A Life worth living: an Edward and Severus friendship story
by bumblebee88888
Summary: Brother story to 'Leave Me' . On the night of Lily's death, Edward and Severus meet. 14 years later they meet again during Harry's 5th year. See how the Cullens' presence affects Severus and alters the future of the Wizarding World. Edward's POV. NOT slash. Canon compatible. WIP. Please read and review :)
1. Introduction

**Introduction to a Harry Potter and Twilight Saga cross-over fanfiction**

**By bumblebee88888**

'A life worth living' (Edward's POV + input from other Cullens/Jake)

'Leave me' (Severus' POV + input from other HP characters)

Thank you for clicking on my cross-over story! I so appreciate your interest in my writing and I hope you enjoy reading this brief introduction.

**_Important_**_**information**__:_

DISCLAIMER: the characters in both of these stories are NOT of my creation; they are the imaginings of the wonderful JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. I am merely playing around with both of these worlds and forcing these amazing literary characters to meet!

COPYRIGHT of other fan fictions: Just for the record, I have only read one cross-over story in my life. The author of that particular story is aware that I am writing my own cross-over, and I have assured her (honestly) that my story will be very different from hers. I imagine that the plot line I outline below may be quite a common one out there, but if this is the case, I have NOT read any such stories. Therefore, these ideas are entirely my own, and copyright of fellow authors was not in any way intended.

As underlined above, there are **two** stories that will come out of this cross-over: one from Edward's perspective and one from Severus'. However, there are times (especially towards the beginning of the story) where other characters may need their POV told for various reasons. However, once the story 'gets going' it will be an Edward/Severus fic. Therefore, the same story will be told from these two points of view (with brief inputs from other characters). For those who are concerned that they will be almost identical retellings, do not fear; they will be very different. As such, they will be posted as two separate stories, but as I say, they will revolve around the same plotline.

Having said the above, please note that this story is still a work in progress. I have not written ANY of the chapters for either of these stories. But rest assured that ideas, dialogue and plot twists are constantly on my mind! Therefore, updates will **not** occur consistently, but I promise to update whenever I have the next chapter ready to post; I will not hold out on you!

There are aspects of this story (especially at the beginning) that cover quite a serious topic. I will mention it again when I get to that part of my story, but I wish to say from the outset that in no way do I endorse the behaviour that I 'make' these characters do (or try to do) in my story.

Finally, I am a writer who loves to create plotlines compatible with canon. This means that, where possible, the events in canon will remain the same in my stories. However, given the context of this fanfic, I am hoping you will understand why I will need to make some substantial alterations to some aspects of the plot line. You will get an idea of _how _big these changes will be right now :)

**Introduction**

Anyone wishing to understand this cross-over story needs to read this introduction (to understand alterations I will be making to the canon timeline), and also have quite a firm knowledge of both the Harry Potter and Twilight worlds. But even if you don't, I hope it will still be an interesting story for you to read!

Anyway, this introduction will set the scene for the beginning of 'A life worth living' and 'Leave me'. Please note that I will update each story alternating (unless I am inspired to continue writing from one character's perspective for a while. If this is the case, you will find out on my facebook page: #!/Bumblebee5n4p3 Please 'like' this page if you haven't already :D. Also, I will post up 'teasers' for the upcoming chapters on this page once I have written them :)

While this prologue will provide you with a rough idea of what to expect, I hope you can appreciate that I may add or change various aspects in future chapters. If this happens, I will be sure to let you know on facebook and in my author's notes J

Happy reading, I can't wait to hear what you guys think of my cross-over idea!

31st October, 1981

By 5pm, the Cullens had loaded their luggage into their cars (the rest of their belongings were already on the freight ship to Washington), and had farewelled their England home, where they had lived for the past ten years. They were moving back to their home in Forks which they haven't visited for multiple decades to ensure that anyone who would recognise them was now deceased. With a few hours to kill before they were due to catch their plane to the USA, and having hunted that morning, the Cullens decided to explore the dark lit streets in the hope of finding some amusement, perhaps some children dressed up as vampires for Halloween.

Together they ran quite a distance until they found a place that appeared lively with trick-or-treaters: 'Godric's Hollow'. Having never heard of the place, the Cullens decided to explore it, making an effort not to be seen. However, what they thought were children partaking in Halloween, were actually full-grown men and women wearing elaborate robes as they celebrated on the streets.

Was the tradition in this small town different from the others with regard to Halloween? The Cullens turned to Edward to see if he had gathered from the thoughts of those around them, what they were celebrating so passionately. Immediately Edward was able to provide them with an answer; their enthusiastic thoughts were crowding his mind, he could barely concentrate.

Hiding behind a house in the darkness, Edward whispered under his breath:

"A man who they identify as someone who 'Must not be named' has died- killed in a confrontation with a- with an infant…" Edward trailed off wondering if what he heard was even possible.

"My goodness, is the child alright?" Esme asked, her voice high with worry.

Edward paused for a moment listening to the thoughts around him, searching for an answer; surely one of them would know?

"Yes," he was finally able to report. "He is alive." Following this, Edward listened intently, his eyebrows knit together in concentration as he tried to make sense of the new information he was receiving from a short, portly man about fifty feet away.

"This man's death is incredibly mysterious," Edward pondered aloud, unable to determine anything beyond that so far.

"How do you mean?" Jasper asked, not able to sense any trepidation amongst any of the humans in the vicinity.

"No one is quite sure how he died," Edward clarified in a mysterious whisper, "only that he meant to kill the child but failed to do so… _he_ perished instead."

"Is that even possible?" Carlisle queried, and then remained silent for a moment to contemplate how a human could try to kill a baby, and for it to then go so horribly wrong.

"_Why_ did he want to kill a harmless infant?" Carlisle demanded, outraged that someone would attempt to take the life of an innocent child.

"I suppose there is a chance he _wasn't _harmless," Emmett contributed, though the broad smile on his face told his family he was only joking. Nevertheless, they couldn't help but take him seriously; it was the only plausible explanation.

Considering that no one around them seemed tended towards killing the child themselves, it seemed unlikely the boy was a danger to anyone, and indeed, what could an infant do to endanger the life of a full-grown man? Yet the attire of the celebrating adults around them, and the mysterious question of _how _an attempt at murder could _literally_ backfire, left the Cullens feeling like they were missing some important information.

From what began as a curious and brief stroll through Godric's Hollow became an extensive exploration of the town to see what further information they could find. Despite walking in the light of the streetlamps, no one seemed to pay them any notice; these humans were so exuberant- so thrilled to be free of this 'Dark Lord' that they paid no attention to the seven gorgeous 'humans' who walked in their midst.

Edward, who was leading his family down the street, suddenly came to a halt, his eyes captivated by a series of multicoloured lights which shone brightly ahead of him in the absence of any bulbs or electricity. Walking slowly forward, Edward eventually laid eyes on what, or rather who, was creating the mysterious lights.

He stared in awe at the wooden 'sticks' being held by four robe-clad humans, two men and two women, who were chanting a spell that caused red, green, blue, and purple lights to swirl artistically up into the sky.

_Witches and Wizards… performing magic with their wands, _Edward informed himself slowly as he forced himself to accept the evident reality that magic-wielding humans exist. Although this realisation was difficult to believe, in that moment, everything fit together perfectly; all of these people were wizards and witches. This man whose death everyone was celebrating must have tried to kill the infant with some form of Dark _Magic_. Of course, the underlying question of 'why' was still to be determined.

Edward communicated this shocking discovery to his family, and received alarmed glares from each of them; they had no idea that magical humans existed, let alone so close to where they had lived for the past ten years. Yet, it was quite clear that the bright streams of light were indeed exploding out of _wands_ left, right and centre as these witches and wizards lit up the sky with a brilliant display of fireworks.

Shortly after, a resounding cheer of: "To Harry Potter, the boy who lived!" filled the small town, and the Cullens assumed that Harry Potter was the young child now famous for somehow causing the death of 'He who must not be named'.

Deciding that it would not be wise to stay in Godric's Hollow much longer (even though Edward had not picked up on anyone who recognised them as being 'abnormal') the Cullens inconspicuously ran back to their cars. Having piled into the Volvo and Mercedes, which would come with them via ship to the United States (their other vehicles were already waiting for them in Forks), the family of vampires discussed the events they witnessed in Godric's Hollow on the way to the airport. Various questions regarding whether the Volturi knew of this magical human community, the size of the wizarding population, and pondering over what _else_ they could do with their wands other than make fireworks and kill one another, were all hot topics of conversation in both cars.

Edward, who was leading the convoy towards the airport in his Volvo with Alice and Jasper, unexpectedly turned off the main road. Confused by this detour, Carlisle decided to follow his son; it was imperative that they stay together. After driving two hundred metres down a dark suburban street, Edward pulled up in a dingy backstreet. Jasper and Alice exited the car behind Edward, none of them speaking to one another as if this unexplained stop, when their plane was due to leave in three hours, was perfectly understandable. However, to the occupants of the other car, their behaviour was extremely strange. It took a second for Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle and Esme to be by their side, all of them looking quizzically at the other three of their coven.

Considering the sound of incoherent drunken drawling and the stench of stale alcohol, it was no surprise to any of them that at the end of the alley was a pub.

"Where are we?" Rosalie asked, her nose scrunched up in disgust at being in such a poor, rough area of England.

"Spinner's End," Emmett informed her, having managed to see the sign when Carlisle quickly turned off the road in pursuit of his son.

Rosalie snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it. Edward, what are we doing here?" she demanded in a hiss.

But Edward, Jasper, and Alice continued to remain silent, stiff and frozen. It took the others barely a second to understand that _someone_ was affecting their family member's gifts. So they waited until one of them were able to explain what was happening.

But they didn't.

In the blink of an eye, Edward ran to the end of the alley and turned right. Immediately on his left was the pub they all knew existed even though they hadn't seen it. Jasper looked pained, but didn't make to stop his brother from whatever he planned on doing. Alice was still frozen, her gaze miles away as she focused on the future.

Carlisle struggled with himself, unsure what Edward was doing and why. Although he trusted his son would ensure his true essence remained unknown to any humans he came in contact with, Carlisle's fears got the best of him, so he and Esme walked casually towards the pub, leaving Rosalie and Emmett to watch over their brother and sister, who were monitoring the consequences of Edward's every action. They had to wait a full hour before they saw their brother again.

This was the worst day of his life. Severus Snape was barely functioning; Lily Potter was murdered by the Dark Lord two hours ago. He did not deserve to live when he was responsible for the death of someone so _good. _The Wizarding World was celebrating, _none _of them gave a shit about the fact that the Potters were dead or that their son was left orphaned. In one go, Severus swallowed his seventh whiskey appreciating the numbing effect the alcohol was having on him. Everything hurt- his mind, his limbs, it was hard to breathe, and his heart was torn into shreds. He was too traumatised to cry or even scream; he was a frozen statue of torture. Severus was certain he could never escape such pain; he could never forgive himself for what he had done.

Lily was lost forever.

Shortly after this, a tall, handsome boy walked into the pub. Severus found it obsurd that someone like this kid was allowed into such a place, or indeed, was present in Spinner's End. His shocking bronze hair was almost offensive to his eyes, and so he turned his back on the boy, and tried to ignore him.

But he couldn't…

The consequences of the conversation that followed between this boy and Severus altered the future in such a complex way that not even Alice could fully comprehend it...

On the way to the airport, Edward, Alice and Jasper explained to those occupying the Mercedes what happened from the moment they drove into Spinner's End, to the moment they left. Despite the detour, the Cullens still boarded their plane on time, and left England for the United States as planned. While they had physically left Severus, the memory of him and the 'Boy who lived' never left their minds. While impossible for all of them to truly forget, Edward, Alice, and Jasper's thoughts continued to drift back to Severus as they began the next stage of their existence back in Forks.

Years 1981- 1995

During the next fourteen years, the events that take place in the Harry Potter world remain exactly as outlined in canon. While Severus never forgot the strange appearance of the tall, bronze-haired boy in the pub, he pushed it out of his mind; he had no time to think of it once he swore his allegiance to Albus Dumbledore.

Similarly, the Cullens never forgot Severus, but continued their lives as if they had never met him; he was not their concern now. Although Alice tried to search for his future, she was strangely unsuccessful. Even though she had never met the man, having seen his future previously, she thought finding him again would not be difficult. Ultimately, she gave up, knowing that no matter what she saw, there was nothing they could do about it anyway. Edward had done all he could do; they needed to move on…

While the events from the Harry Potter verse remain exactly as per canon (unless stated otherwise), the Twilight world has been altered slightly: during these 14 years (between 1981 and 1995), Edward and his family live in Forks. After the first three of these years, Bella Swan arrives to live with her father. She and Edward meet in the school year starting in September 1984. The events as per the Twilight Saga occur from _this_ point in time which is quite a few years earlier than they do in the books.

This means that at the beginning of 1995, Harry Potter will be turning 15 years of age, Bella Swan is now Mrs Cullen (a vampire, naturally), and she and Edward have been married for 8 years. Renesmee is chronologically 8 years of age, and was recently married to Jacob Black. They do not have any children (in case you were wondering).

Having been in Forks for 14 years, the Cullens decide it is time for them to move before anyone became dangerously suspicious of their infinite youth. Although a great sacrifice for him to leave his father and his pack, Jacob is prepared to go with the Cullens to wherever they decide to live as along as he can eventually live alone with Renesmee as husband and wife.

Just like Forks, The Cullens wanted to live in a similarly overcast town where they could walk outside during the day on most days. So, the Cullens began to brainstorm previous locations they have lived that might be suitable. One night, Edward, Bella (who had recently been told about the events at Godric's Hollow and Severus in lieu of their impending move), Jasper, and Alice had a private discussion, and concluded that they would try to persuade the rest of their family to move back to England even though they were there only fourteen years ago.

Despite various objections and concerns, the rest of the Cullens eventually agreed to this plan. A significant difficulty would be to find a house in a markedly different area to their previous home in case previous acquaintances recognised them. It was risky and less than ideal, but the 'gifted' Cullens made a compelling case. So when they arrive in England some 14 years after they left it, with Renesmee, Jacob and Bella in tow, they saw that the place looks roughly the same as they remembered it.

1995 'Present' day- (where a majority of the story takes place)

Within days of settling in, Edward takes Bella, Renesmee, and Jacob to Godric's Hollow (late in the night) to show them the place where his family had previously witnessed the witches and wizards celebrating the death of a man no one was willing to speak the name of. His curiosity piquing, Edward also drove his family back to Spinner's End wondering whether he would find Severus Snape there. But he could not, and could not gather from the minds around him whether the man was even alive. When they arrived home, even Alice attempted to search for the man's future, but to no avail; for some reason she was still unable to see him.

Deciding where they would go to school, and in particular, finding a job for Carlisle was difficult given that his previous colleagues were likely to be widespread across England.

Then one night, Jacob and the Cullens were hunting together in a deep forest multiple kilometres from their home. They come across animals they had never seen before, some of them with human intelligence. Knowing that it would be extremely risky to stay where they were, they left the forest immediately being careful that no one was following them. Once they exited the thicket of the forest, they come face-to-face with a tall, thin man who looked to be at least one hundred years of age. He had a long white beard, half-moon spectacles, and a wand in his hand which was pointed directly at Carlisle's chest.

Later they would learn his name: Albus Dumbledore, who informed them that they had just tried to hunt inside the 'Forbidden Forest', the area that was not protected by the enchantments surrounding Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Through various deductions, the wise man concludes that this family were not human. After further discussion (of which were numerous), the Cullens learn about the Wizarding world, and Albus in turn, learns of vampires and the outstanding abilities the Cullens possess that would greatly assist in his cause.

Much to the visitors' horror, the man of whom no one wished to speak fourteen years ago, had recently been resurrected by an intricate form of Dark Magic. A war was coming- not yet here, but it would come, and Albus warned them to be careful if they chose to stay in England. By this stage, the Cullens and Jacob had become so enthralled by the complexity of Harry Potter's history with this 'Voldemort' character that they felt compelled to help these interesting humans. After various pragmatic and safety issues were resolved upon, especially with regard to the Volturi and the Ministry of Magic, the Cullens agree that instead of pursuing their education or paid work (they have a large fortune at their disposal already), they will assist Albus and his school to bring about the permanent destruction of Lord Voldemort.

The following school year, the Cullens are shown around Hogwarts castle whilst all the students are sleeping. This tour took place with the intention that once the vampires (with their perfect memories) saw the castle they would remember all the secret passageways, classrooms, common rooms etc, so if a battle were to occur there, they could easily find their way around.

It was on this occasion that Severus and Edward would meet again for the first time in 14 years.

Therefore, a majority of the cross-over stories will take place from Harry's 5th to (what would have been) his final year at Hogwarts, however I envisage at least three chapters taking place in those three hours before the Cullens catch their plane to Washington. During the years of 1981 to 1995, only one chapter will be posted which will reflect on the experiences of Severus and Edward/the Cullens during those 14 years. It will be (I imagine) quite brief.

I am not sure how many chapters these stories will entail. However, you can assume that both stories will have an equal number of chapters.

Obviously, the plotline described above will be written in much greater detail. This was only a 'sneak peek' of what you can expect. Don't worry, you will find out exactly what Edward and Severus say to each other when they first meet, and all of the conversations between Albus, Jacob and the Cullens. Thus, this story (from two different perspectives) is basically books 5 to 7 of the Harry Potter series, but from Severus' perspective with a little (or perhaps a lot :P) of Cullen intervention. However, I will warn you by saying that while the Cullens are most definitely involved, for Albus to keep them as a secret weapon for the final battle; they will not be able to do too much to influence the events that occur in canon.

And my final point: this is (I am stating it now) primarily a story between Severus and Edward. It will NOT be a romantic story in any way (just putting it out there). For those who know my writing well, this means that only the characters that have a direct impact on Edward or Severus will be written about (which will sadly mean that minor characters will be neglected). Having said this, I can most definitely incorporate short interactions between any of the Cullens and a character in the Harry Potter series should you desire J So please let me know if you would like to see specific characters have a conversation with each other. Please remember that only the Cullens or Jacob can be chosen from the Twilight world. Send your requests via a private message or leave me a comment on Facebook. Unfortunately, there may be some I will not be able to 'work in' to the story, but those I can do, I will :)

And as always, please leave me a review and let me know what you think of this prologue J

I can't wait to hear from you guys! And I am very, VERY excited to get started on these stories! My mind has been going crazy recently with all sorts of dramatic ideas!

P.S. for readers who are waiting for more 'Trust me' outtakes, I am terribly sorry I have not updated in the last few months. As you can see, other ideas have been boiling under the surface! But I have started the next outtake, and hope to post it in between posting the first and second chapter of these brother stories :) Nevertheless, I hope you can forgive me for my lack of Twi-writing!


	2. Chapter 1 Godric's Hollow

Author's note: Welcome to the first chapter of 'A life worth living'. I apologise for taking so long to post this chapter. I wanted to make sure I was setting the scene exactly how I imagined it while keeping in line with Harry Potter canon as much as possible. I do apologise. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the Cullens' first experience with the wizarding world! Happy reading!

'A life worth living'

Chapter 1- Godric's Hollow

6:00pm 31st of October 1981

Edward's POV

I was driving the Volvo towards a place unknown to me- to any of us except Emmett. While I ensured Carlisle's Mercedes was always in view, for Emmett was directing him to some mysterious town, Alice and Jasper were trying to predict what the night would entail for us. None of us were talking, which was unusual, especially for Alice. That night was our last in England; we were due to catch a plane in four hours which would take us to Forks, Washington. After calling England our home for the past seven years, we were sad to be leaving. While we understood the necessity to move, the prospect of living in the small town of Forks was not entirely appealing for multiple reasons. Myself, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme had lived there some eighty years ago and the experience was not what one would call relaxing due to the Quileute Tribe we encountered. Currently there was no reason to believe that things would be any different when we returned. Nevertheless, Carlisle was determined to return in case the Treaty we made with this particular tribe was not being maintained by the current generation of Quileutes.

Even though Jasper had never been to Forks, his thoughts were filled with the many narratives we had shared with him, Alice and Emmett in preparation for our living back in Forks. This tribe, who possessed a gene that allowed them to phase into wolves the size of horses at will for the purpose of destroying us was most definitely a danger to us, so I understood Jasper's concern. Even though we rarely spoke of it, I knew everyone in my family were wary about returning to the town. Unlike in England, Forks would provide less safety for our family. This greatly affected Jasper, who not only feels his own fear, but that of everyone else's. In particular, he worries about Alice's safety, almost as if Forks is like a battlefield which he was so often exposed to in his earlier human and vampire days. Perhaps he had hoped to escape the feeling.

Alice, on the other hand, was dreading living in Forks due to it having very few designer clothing stores, or shops altogether. Compared to the heart of London, Forks would be a significant downgrade for her in the shopping department. But she too shared Jasper's fear and was nervous what our family's future might look like when we come in contact with the Quileute tribe. We already agreed that if she foresaw any of our destruction we would find somewhere else to live.

As I drove, a small part of my brain remained focused on Carlisle's car, but the other part of me was trying to fight a growing feeling of discontent and hopelessness. Whilst Alice and Jasper huddled together in the back, and knowing that Carlisle, Esme, Rose and Emmett would be doing something similar, I was the chauffeur, alone and unloved in comparison to how they were cherished. I saw it and heard it in their minds every second of my existence. Sometimes I would hunt on my own simply to avoid their devoted love for one another. Of course, I am happy for them, but after so many years of being on my own, I wished to have my own companion who I could love as much as they do. Forks, with its mere three thousand one hundred and twenty inhabitants would be another seven years of my life wasted. Nothing was waiting for us there except perhaps the Quileute Tribe. The move seemed pointless to me, but Carlisle insisted that we needed to move on before our lack of aging became suspicious in our London suburb. Forks was one of his highest priorities because he was curious to see if the current Quileute Tribe was still maintaining our secret.

Our plane was due to leave at 9:50pm- late, but ideal, especially for us. Without the need to sleep, our time is never truly wasted, but it meant we could arrive in Washington during the day when we could be provided with sufficient resources to travel to the suburb of Forks and unpack our belongings. Exactly one hour ago, my family and I were packing the last of our belongings into various bags. The larger objects such as our televisions and the furniture stayed in our house; we could buy replicas in America when we arrived. In years to come when we return to England (for there are few places in the world where the sun is elusive), those items will presumably still be useful.

Now that our belongings were packed and loaded into the two cars, and we all hunted earlier that day, we were ready to go to the airport. However, our family no longer arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to take off like most humans would. Instead, the custom is to leave 4 hours before boarding and…

"Any idea where he is taking us, Edward?" Alice asked, interrupting my train of thought.

I sighed. "No, he is purposefully keeping it a secret from me; he knows I am trying to work it out."

"Why do you think he does not want us to know?" Jasper enquired, and I could hear his thoughts increase in intensity as he envisaged a town filled with rowdy humans, having fun on Halloween and using real blood for their all too believable costumes.

"He wants it to be a surprise," I tried to reassure him, as I made an attempt to block out the vivid image in my brother's mind.

"Well of course it will be a surprise, we have never been there before- that's the whole point!" Alice asserted somewhat cheerfully, but there was fear in her tone too; Emmett was so unpredictable even with her gift of foresight.

"You haven't been able to pick up anything?" Jasper asked Alice.

She gave him a grim smile. "After making sure the plane was going to be on time tonight, which it still is by the way," she clarified, "I checked. But all I can see is fireworks."

"Perfect," Jasper grumbled. "A Halloween fair," he surmised, not enthused about needing to go on human rides or watching fireworks of which we have seen many times before. "I would prefer to wait at the airport," he mumbled bitterly.

"Oh, Jaz!" Alice exclaimed exasperated. "Don't be such a spoil sport! It will be fun; I'm sure Emmett is taking us somewhere interesting."

I too was curious as to where Emmett had chosen to take us, but mainly due to the mysterious foresight Alice had. There was something rather strange about the fireworks she saw; they did not _look _the same as those I had seen in the past.

"Well as long as it isn't dangerous, and there aren't any bleeding humans around, I'll be fine," Jasper mumbled sourly, and I could tell that the tradition Carlisle created for our family was something he did not approve of.

Alice laughed it off. "You will be fine Jaz, we all will be; I haven't seen any of us hurt anyone," she reassured him delicately, which seemed to make Jasper feel a little better.

Before Alice, Jasper and Emmett joined our family, the rest of us were living in Portugal. On the morning of our final day, Rosalie insisted we visit a beach she had heard about located on one of the islands off the coast of the country. That afternoon, we took a significant detour on our way to the airport, and found the beautiful beach that was completely deserted due to the heavy rain that was falling on the sand. Since becoming a vampire neither Esme nor I had been to a beach, so Rosalie had provided us with an opportunity to swim without fear of being noticed for what we are. It was an excellent two hours. Since then, Carlisle decided it would be valuable and enjoyable for us to, as a family, take turns deciding where to go for a quick visit on the night we leave a particular country. Preferably the place should be somewhere no one else has been. On this occasion, it was Emmett's turn which was why the location we were travelling to was a mystery to us. But even then I knew Emmett was keen to provide us with an experience that was unexpected, and indeed, he did not leave us disappointed.

Another ten minutes passed before Carlisle's right indicator lit up the evening air. I followed his lead. As we turned right into a long street, we passed under a sign with the words: 'Godric's Hollow' written across it. In the distance we could see that the town square was lit up, no doubt for Halloween celebrations. Alice and Jasper had stiffened slightly now that we were here. Carlisle and those travelling in his car exited their vehicle first. Emmett seemed overly excited to _finally_ have the opportunity to show this town to us. He was no longer keeping his plans a secret from me. My mind was filled with his memories of humans dressed in unusually coloured clothing, as I stepped out of the car. Alice and Jasper cautiously followed my lead.

"Where are we?" Alice ventured to ask as we all looked around. In the distance we could see and hear what appeared to be at least fifty children mingling around the town square, wearing similar coloured costumes to those I saw in Emmett's memories.

_What is so special about this place?_ I wondered, interested in how Emmett knew where this place was; it was a significant distance away from anywhere we had been before.

"A place called Godric's Hollow," Emmett stated almost proudly, gesturing towards the town square as if there was something unusual or intriguing about the place. "I came upon this town a few weeks ago when I was hunting. I didn't have time to get too close though because I knew Rose was looking for me-"

"This is where you went?" Rosalie asked in disbelief, disgusted that she was forced to wait for even a minute just so Emmett could explore a place so _ordinary._

"It was an accident," Emmett reminded her gently, and then kissed her forehead. "I was chasing a devious bear, I reckon it was trying to out smart me," Emmett gave a bark of a laugh in amusement. "The moment I realized I travelled too far was when I arrived on the outskirts of this town. I made to turn around immediately, but I couldn't help being curious about all these weirdly dressed people. So I found the name of the place; I wanted to show you," Emmett explained, feeling slightly awkward as we looked at him. He knew it didn't appear too exciting, especially given the look on all of our faces, but Emmett being Emmett was determined that something exciting would happen whilst we were there.

The chances of that did not seem high.

"What is it about Godric's Hollow that intrigued you?" Esme asked kindly, genuinely curious.

"Other than its name? I'm kidding!" Emmett added when he realized no one was laughing with him. "Well, last time I was here there were a few people walking around wearing bright purples, greens and reds."

I looked in the distance and saw that tonight was no different.

"Perhaps every night is Halloween in this town?" I suggested sourly.

Emmett laughed loudly, trying to brush off the underlying annoyance in my statement.  
"Nah, this is different. They were _adults _and it seemed to be their usual clothing, not a costume," Emmett asserted and in his mind I could see images of the adults he spoke of. Unwillingly I nodded my head; I could see that they were not trick-or-treating or dressing up- they were walking casually as if it was entirely normal.

Emmett gave me a broad smile. "So now that I have Edward on my side," he asserted proudly, "I'm dying to get closer; I wanna see a child walking around dressed as a vampire. God if only we could show them what we _really_ look like!"

"Emmett!" Carlisle said sharply, though I could see the slight smile playing on his lips.

"Sorry Carlisle, it was a joke," Emmett reminded our father, though he felt a little guilty for saying what he did in public. And then, grabbing Rose's hand, he led the way up the path towards the cobbled streets that form the town centre of Godric's Hollow.

The rest of my family followed behind them. Jasper and I felt this would ultimately be a waste of time, but the others were curious to find out more about these elaborately dressed humans. Due to Emmett being the more adventurous hunter, who would brag to us for days if he so much as _saw_ an animal significantly larger than ones we had previously drank from, we had expected something different from him. I thought he would have taken us into an isolated forest that sheltered a unique animal we could hunt even though none of us needed to drink. But instead he brings us to a small town where people wore strange clothing. This was definitely unexpected.

Esme, Carlisle and Alice followed Emmett, out of politeness more than anything else. Alice had concluded that this was the town we would see fireworks, and while this reminded me of the strange way these appeared in Alice's vision, it still did not make me all that enthused being amongst these strange humans for the next hour. Nevertheless, we were slightly curious about how this town had originally intrigued Emmett to the extent that he made an effort to discover the name of it. We all kept our thoughts to ourselves as we followed the tallest of our family along the path which led to the town square.

When we were roughly two hundred feet from the crowd, I was overcome with thoughts that impeded heavily on my mind. I had heard the faint whispers of them from a distance, but now that they were within range of my gift, I could hear each individual thought and concern.

I stopped on the road. Alice noticed, and stayed with me, calling out to Emmett to come back; it was important we stayed together. I paused, concentrating, my eyes tight as I tried to make out the thoughts in my mind.

None of them were making any sense.

Halloween seemed entirely forgotten in this town- I even questioned whether they knew what Halloween was it was so far from their thoughts. Instead there was a mixture of sorrow, fear, and excitement that filled their heads, which caused them to talk and think quickly. I had difficulty determining whether they were even thinking of the same thing, or talking about different events.

For the first time in my existence, human thoughts had left me feeling confused.

"What's wrong, Edward?" Alice asked me concerned, her body mimicking my own tense one. I could tell she was looking into the future, trying to determine if anything bad would occur due to whatever was causing me to freeze, but she did not see anything unusual. I would have replied to her, but I was spending most of my energy trying to make out the thoughts I was hearing.

_What was that explosion? _

_Did someone say the Potters lived there?_

_Why is no one telling us what is going on?_

_I am going to send an owl to Aunt Louise._

_I saw a green light through my curtain. _

_No one seems to know what is happening._

_The house is destroyed- perhaps it was Death Eaters? What were they after? Are they still here somewhere?_

_A small child dying so young, it's such a tragedy._

_Perhaps they are still alive, hiding from Him._

_We must be careful, we're being too loud; He could be anywhere._

No one seemed to know what was happening. Thoughts were contradicting other thoughts, and ultimately the town seemed to be in confusion themselves. Who was "He"? Who were the Potters? What were Death Eaters? Why would you send an owl to a relative? And why did an explosion occur? I couldn't help but smile despite the array of confusion in my mind.

"What is it, Edward?" Carlisle asked urgently, but I could feel him relax slightly; my smile reassured him and my family that things were okay for now.

I refocused my gaze and attention on to my family, who were all watching me with concern and curiosity.

"I think this town has just experienced an incident of some kind; no one seems to know what happened."

Emmett laughed quietly, thrilled that he had unknowingly organized an exciting final night in England.

"Perhaps we can help them solve the mystery?" Emmett suggested, more than ready to continue closer to the town. If a human were to look our way, they would not be able to see us; we were just out of sight. This was just as well, because I imagined the seven of us standing here would look suspicious to them.

I sighed as I contemplated Emmett's most recent hope to help these humans with their mystery; his sense of adventure knew no bounds. Although I was curious about their predicament, not to mention the strange nature of their thoughts, it would not do well for any of us to 'help' these humans. But of course, Emmett was already making hypothetical plans in his mind.

I shook my head at him, trying not to be frustrated or focus too much on his thoughts so I could continue to process the ones around me. Emmett regretfully nodded his understanding before resuming the lead and taking us further into the town.

But after another minute listening to the thoughts getting louder and more intense as we approached, I found myself becoming frustrated and wary; something wasn't right.

"It's too dangerous," I inform Emmett and my family, which stopped them dead in their tracks. "There are too many things I do not understand."

"That's impossible!" Rosalie hissed, thinking that I had suddenly lost my ability to understand humans. My eyes flew towards hers, annoyed by her distrust in me.

"Edward, could you cut to the chase? People are starting to notice us standing over here," Jasper whispered through his teeth. Only then did I realise how far we had walked from our previous location; now there were three humans, the ones closest to us who were looking in our direction. Although they were merely intrigued as to why we were not coming forward, I did not want to risk their curiosity turning into suspicion.

I gave a nod towards Jasper suggesting we should start to walk _slowly _forward. Seeing us approach, the three people watching us begun to move further towards the square, evidently satisfied that we were coming to join in their town's celebration. However, what they were celebrating was still a mystery to me.

While we followed them, I quickly whispered to my family:

"These humans are not 'normal'."

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked immediately, suspicion and fear encroaching on her mind, because other than their strange clothing, she had not noticed anything else unusual about them. On top of this, she was also appalled by my lack of detail; 'not normal' was not enough information for her.

"There is something about their minds, and about their conversations that do not fit in with the typical world even _we _live in," I explained to her. "They are using words I have never heard being said or thought by another human in my existence."

"Such as?" Carlisle pried, curiosity taking over as we continue to walk at a steady pace.

"'Death Eaters'-"

Emmett snorted. "I'd like to see someone eat death!" he chortled.

I glared at him, unimpressed; _obviously_ the term had a more specific meaning in their world.

"Did you stop to consider that perhaps _we_ 'eat' death?" I asked him harshly, having realised with some trepidation that vampires eliminate the possibility of true death and thus, 'eat' it in a manner of speaking.

This caused everyone to pause in stiff, wary contemplation.

"But they don't-" Jasper began.

"No," I answered him before he could continue, having heard his train of thought. "They are not referring to _us_ as 'Death Eaters'. They do not suspect."

At this, my family relaxed slightly, which allowed me to re-focus on the three humans in front of us. They had stopped walking, so we did too some forty feet away. A fourth person had joined their group and together they were whispering in an attempt to not be overheard by their neighbours. At this distance, no human would be able to hear what was being said unless it was shouted, but naturally for us, it was all too easy to hear the words being spoken.

"But it's impossible; no one could _know _that," a tall, somewhat attractive woman with dark brown hair asserted. I could see in her mind that she was certain she was right; such knowledge, whatever that might be, would be impossible to know without being present at the time of the incident.

"I promise you, I just overheard the neighbours saying that they saw a _green _light coming from the house," an equally tall man insisted. I later discovered she was his wife.  
"Gary, that could have been many things; the _killing _curse isn't the only spell that emits a green glow," she whispered heatedly, feeling uncomfortable talking about something she perceived to be forbidden when so many people were within earshot.

My family and I quickly glanced at one another. All of a sudden this had become murder- a curse that apparently they all knew about and were capable of performing themselves. My family and I began to consider, as we continued listening, whether these humans were dangerous.

"Well my wife works at the ministry and she just informed me that they received a signal indicating that He used an Unforgivable three times within a ten minute time frame," the balding man whispered, the last person to join the group. It was clear he did not want to be overheard; he felt guilty for discussing what his wife discovered at work for it was meant to be kept confidential.

"No," the tall woman gasped horrified, but there was no doubt that she believed him now. I saw in her mind as she imagined a family: a woman with long red hair, a man with black glasses and messy dark hair, and a small child who could barely be one year of age lying stationary on the ground. "That's terrible!" she cried.

The other woman in the group, shorter than the first with short black hair and a slight build wrapped her arm around her friend's waist.

"He will pay," she reassured her companions.

"Well that's the thing," the balding man whispered, and I could tell he somehow found this whole event highly amusing. "_He_ has disappeared."

"That's _impossible_! He may go into hiding, but to disappear entirely?" The taller woman shrieked. Her husband, Gary patted her gently on the shoulder and encouraged her to keep her voice down.

"They cannot find him- he is no longer detectable by the ministry," the balding man confirmed with confidence.

"That's bizarre!" The shorter woman exclaimed.

The man nodded. "My wife and her colleagues are still trying to put the pieces together."

"Either way, if He _has_ disappeared, I am certain none of us will miss Him," Gary stated feelingly, and I could see this mysterious 'He' had created intense amounts of fear not only in Gary, but within his town over the years.  
"Me neither," the tall woman agreed shivering, and I saw in her mind an image of a man, who I could only assume was the 'He' they referred to, and the terror associated with his tall, skeletal stature, flat nose and snake-like eyes.

Feeling that this particular conversation had reached the end of its usefulness for now, I focused my mind on the tight huddle that had formed next to them.

"Someone said they saw Albus Dumbledore near the house," said a man with short blonde hair. All I could see was the top of his head, for the four people in that group were literally huddled together in a circle as if they were about to play a game of football.

"Well I am willing to bet he would know what has happened," a woman with long straight black hair said with confidence even though her voice quavered with fear and anticipation.

I saw the four of them nod in agreement.

"Indeed I have no doubt you are right. I wonder what he was doing here."  
"Do you think he was removing their bodies? Or planning to confront Him on his own?" A short, plump man asked no one in particular.

"He'd be more than capable of it, but I doubt he would do such a thing with so many innocent people around," the blonde haired man speculated, and I saw that he had the highest respect for this 'Albus Dumbledore'.

"You're right, he wouldn't take the risk," the short man agreed, but was still eager to understand exactly what Albus Dumbledore was doing in Godric's Hollow.

At that moment, a series of excited whispers travelled throughout the square as people began to quieten upon hearing that someone by the name of Bathilda had arrived. I looked around in an attempt to find the person they were referring to, eventually resting my eyes on an elderly woman who was approaching from the south of the town. She did not appear to be extraordinary in any way, but for some reason, most of the people in the town flocked towards her, and I assumed correctly that she was someone important. Apparently, most people were under the belief that this woman would be able to provide them with more information; she was some kind of historian.

When she arrived to the centre of the square, everyone was standing in silence waiting for her to speak. Even though it was unnecessary, Bathilda stood up on a stone platform which excited many in her audience; they anticipated a speech.

"What are you lot doing out here?" Bathilda asked no one in particular, though her tone suggested she saw her fellow townspeople as her 'children', so treated them as such. "Some of us are trying to have tea in peace!" In response, many of them sought to update her.  
"The Potters' house exploded," one person informed her. At the mention of the name 'Potter', the woman froze momentarily wondering how the town knew who lived there in that _particular _house. This confused me immensely; of course people would know who lived there! But somehow it seemed the dwelling, although _seen _by everyone, was supposed to protect its inhabitants somehow- keep them hidden. It was with unease that Bathilda concluded that after the 'attack', someone must have entered the ruins and was thus able to discover belongings, perhaps photos belonging to the Potters. While Bathilda was contemplating this, others in the town were still updating her.

"He Who Must Not Be Named is missing!" a young woman cried out.

"The Potters are dead," an older woman stated miserably.

Through all the chatter and assertions, the man with short blonde hair shouted over the din.

"But you already knew all this, didn't you Bathilda?"

The elderly woman found this particular man in the crowd and gave him a grim smile.

"Yes, I do know what happened earlier this evening, but I ask you _not_ to parade it around the town for goodness sake! There is no need to celebrate so raucously. If the Muggles discover hundreds of strangely dressed adults having a party on Halloween, not to mention sending numerous Owls all across England, they are going to become suspicious!" she asserted forcefully. I could see in her mind that she was already concerned that her town had brought too much attention to themselves.

"So there _is_ something to celebrate?" a young woman asked, her mind filled with hope that something positive had arisen from the Potters' deaths.

Bathilda eyed her somewhat maliciously; she wished the girl had never asked.

"It depends how you look at it. But history has definitely been altered tonight," she admitted, to the grand interest of everyone surrounding her, including my family.

"How do you mean? Tell us what you know!" A boy asked- he looked about 12 years old.

"Have you spoken to Dumbledore?" the blonde haired man queried.

Bathilda gave an audible sigh, and I could see in her mind that she was informed by some sort of silvery bird that she needed to try to keep things down in Godric's Hollow, and she felt she had already failed the order immensely.

"Yes, Albus has contacted me," she admitted, and somehow I knew this strange bird resembled that man in some way, "and he wants you all to remain quiet and contained so attention is not unnecessarily placed on our town. As I said, if the Muggles find out what has happened, it will be all over their television channels and the ministry will be performing countless Memory Charms. Muggles cannot know what has happened, so I beg you to keep your voices down and restrict celebrations to a minimum. This is an order from Albus," she announced imperatively.

Many of the individuals in the square, upon hearing this was an order from 'Albus Dumbledore' begun to take the matter seriously, and were beginning to reconsider having the aforementioned party. However, there were others, much to Bathilda's frustration who wanted to know exactly _what_ they were celebrating.

"What has happened, Bathilda? We know Dumbledore must have told you the specifics; you are always one of his confidants," someone praised her, clearly in an attempt to gently coax the truth from her. The rest of the town nodded in agreement, all of them hoping to be provided with more information.

I saw Bathilda's lips tighten in agitation; she had no intention of telling the truth she knew. Although Albus had informed her of what had happened, he never said to keep it hidden, only to ensure the town remained civilised, which she perceived to be an unlikely outcome if she were to inform them of what truly happened. Nevertheless, Bathilda knew that the crowd deserved to know the truth as she too could barely contain her own relief and excitement when Albus told her what occurred. Ultimately, she did not want to deny them the news they would eventually discover anyway.

Exhaling another sigh, Bathilda spoke in a harsh, quiet tone.

"You must keep this to yourselves," she emphasised forcefully, almost hissing between her teeth because she knew how much would be at stake if they did not heed her advice. "The Death Eaters are currently ignorant of what has happened to their master".

This made everyone stand up straighter, and I knew they were more alert than before. The knowledge that this news was not known by these 'Death Eaters' made them keen to know more with the intention of keeping their promise with Bathilda as long as they could possibly manage, which probably wasn't long.

As a collective, what appeared to be the entire town was thinking the same thing: _What has happened to Him? Why don't the Death Eaters know yet? Surely they would have realised?_

"As many of you have guessed, You Know Who," she began, causing my family to pause in confusion.

_No, we don't know who, _Rosalie thought to herself. I snickered at her annoyance. "Found the Potters' location earlier this evening," she announced sorrowfully indicating towards the north. "Unfortunately, he has murdered Lily and James." At this, her audience sighed, groaned, and begun to mourn the loss of the couple who, from what I could tell, were highly respected in their community. "However, he was unable to kill their son."

"What?" Multiple people simultaneously shouted. Bathilda allowed herself to smile grimly at their reaction; the fact _was_ truly amazing. Even though I was barely able to understand what was happening, if this man was able to kill two adults, it was shocking even to me that he was unable to kill an infant.

Bathilda raised her hand up to indicate she wanted quiet.

"Neither I nor Albus understand how this is possible; no one in history has ever survived the killing curse. Nevertheless, it is true; the boy is safe. However, You Know Who's failed attempt to murder the child caused the explosion some of you heard, and at the moment, He has indeed disappeared," she said with finality.

Immediately I heard an outcry for more information- more detail; this was one of the most amazing things to have ever happened in their world and they could now understand why Bathilda had earlier said that history had been significantly altered. But before anyone could demand any further answers from her, Bathilda interjected.

"That is all I know," she insisted as she stepped down from her small 'stage'. "Now _please _keep your voices down! The last thing the Ministry or Albus need are the Muggles discovering our existence tonight!"

Although everyone present took Bathilda's warning seriously, they all found it difficult to contain themselves. The moment the elderly woman began walking up the road, presumably towards her home, the rest of her town begun to cheer.

"Here's to the Boy Who Lived!" they shouted as they literally jumped around the town square hugging one another, excitement evident on their faces and in their thoughts.

My family and I turned to look at each other all our eyes wide were with confusion and surprise. Although we did not live in _this _world, for a child to survive an attempted murder and for the murderer to disappear before ending the child's life would appear abnormal to anyone.

"Wow," Emmett commented under his breath; not even he could have guessed exactly what kind of town this was when he first came across it. My family stood in bewildered silence, nodding our agreement.

"Who do you think these Death Eaters are?" Esme asked. "Followers?" she guessed, looking towards me to see if I had gathered clarification from the thoughts of those around us.

I shrugged. "I believe so- followers of this murderer: 'You Know Who'."

"That is so infuriating," Rosalie muttered through her teeth, clearly frustrated. "Doesn't he have a name?" she demanded.

"They seem too frightened to speak of it," Jasper commented. I turned towards him and saw his body was stiff with vigilance, his eyes shifting from human to human as he watched them walk around the square. Their talk of people being murdered did not help put him at ease; unlike the rest of us, Jasper did not see this as an intriguing situation, but a dangerous one.

"He does sound like a terrible person," Carlisle acknowledged. "Who would try to kill a defenceless child?" he continued, his eyes darkening slightly with anger. Esme placed her small hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.  
"What if he isn't defenceless?" Emmett suggested under his breath. A small smile played on his lips, but in his mind, I could see that he was being serious.

"Don't be ridiculous," Rosalie hissed. But I could not bring myself to be as certain as she was about the possibility. Clearly these humans were not normal, so it could be possible that this child was indeed a potential threat to this full grown man who everyone else seems terrified of.

"You never know, Rose," Emmett insisted somewhat playfully; he enjoyed riling up his wife on occasion.

"They aren't exactly human, are they? Well, they _smell _human," Alice clarified, her voice in the quietest whisper so no human could have any hope of hearing, "but they are different, as Edward said before. Who knows? Perhaps the baby _is _dangerous," she ventured, but I could see in her mind that she thought it unlikely.

"It is certainly clear that they are capable of far more than the average human," Carlisle speculated out loud. "They spoke of curses, so I feel this town may be associated with witchery. They also refer to 'Muggles' which I feel may refer to anyone who is unable to perform magic..."

My family stood in silence contemplating Carlisle's words. None of us could deny what he was saying; it made perfect sense.

Nevertheless, it was difficult to admit that in this case, my family were 'Muggles' in _this_ town. Now there were _two_ reasons why it was dangerous for us to be here.

XXXXXXXXXX

Author's note: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of 'A life worth living'. What did you think of it? I always wondered how the people in Godric's Hollow first heard about the Potters' deaths especially given their location wasn't actually known to anyone except Wormtail (due to the Secret Keeper charm). I am hoping to post up the next chapter by the end of the weekend which will consist of further exploration of Godric's Hollow, the fireworks Alice saw, and their entry into Spinner's End.

Thank you SO much for reading! Please take the time to leave me a review. I look forward to reading your thoughts!


	3. Chapter 2 Recognition

Author's note: Hello my wonderful readers :D Welcome back to 'A life worth living'. I'm so sorry it took longer than I planned to update, but I hope this long chapter makes up for it! Let's just say I have been distracted by a number of things the past couple of weeks, but I plan to be back on track now, and hope to post up at least one more chapter after this one before I return to uni at the end of this month. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please remember to let me know what you think by leaving me a comment Thank you!

'A life worth living'

Chapter 2- Recognition

Edward's POV

It took a couple of minutes for us to fully comprehend and appreciate just how ignorant we were of the unique subset of humans that surrounded us. If we were to remain in Godric's Hollow, which was still our intention, we needed to consider how to behave around these humans, so as to prevent being identified as either Muggles or the non-human creatures we were. So, in a brief conversation in which Carlisle did most of the talking, we agreed to remain silent whilst in this town to reduce the chance of being discovered. Although we felt threatened by these humans and our instincts tended towards rigidity and hypervigilance, we forced ourselves to be relaxed and animated to avoid suspicion. However, the realization that we would be perceived as a threat for more than one reason among these strange humans, in addition to our uncertainties regarding the extent of their capacity to harm us, if any, made it difficult to maintain believable facades. However, years of practice rendered us able actors, and it did not take long for my family to master the enthusiastic air of the humans around us. We kept as silent as possible with smiles plastered on our faces, as I led my family into the square. The further we entered into the crowd, the more anxious and confused we felt, as we constantly reminded of our ignorance. Jasper was struggling to maintain his composure due to bearing his own emotions as well as ours and the hundred or so humans surrounding him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice reach over to hold his hand, which seemed to calm him slightly. Thankfully no one noticed our shaky expressions and continued to assume we understood what was happening.

Jasper and I used our gifts to scan the groups of humans around us for any fears or suspicions regarding who or what we are. Of course, we would have left the town immediately if Jasper, Alice or I sensed we were in potential danger, but to the contrary, these humans were more inclined to welcome us into their celebration simply for being _near_ them- all thoughts of us potentially being 'Muggles' completely escaped their notice. Thankfully, the overwhelming joy they felt that the man who should not be named had disappeared meant that no one paid us any attention except to give the occasional cheer or shake one of our hands with enthusiasm. Although there were moments of awkwardness, our ice-cold skin being the greatest concern, we were mostly relieved by the reception we received.

Gradually I discovered that even the loss of the Potters could not dampen the overwhelming level of happiness that filled the town. I puzzled over how their relief at His demise could outweigh the tragic deaths of their neighbours. I concluded that this murderer- the 'He' they referred to was not simply a one-off killer, but a terrifying psychopath where his downfall was worth the lives of two young, respected people.

As we continued to explore the small town, the thoughts I heard pertaining to my family were generally identical regardless of whose mind I was listening to: either they assumed we were visiting someone in Godric's Hollow, without bothering to question who, or they were fixated on Rosalie who they seemed to think was a 'Veela'. At first, Rosalie was alarmed at being singled out, and turned to me abruptly to see if I had any inclination of what exactly she was being identified as. Curious and slightly concerned as to what being a 'Veela' meant, I began to probe the minds of those around me in search of an answer. Soon, I was growing impatient that I still had not discovered what it meant, for the thought would only briefly enter their mind before returning to the topic of You Know Who and the Potters. My lack of information, in conjunction with her continually being identified as a 'Veela', soon became an offensive term in Rosalie's mind; she was no longer amused. When the seventh man to pronounce her a Veela did so well within earshot, I discovered through his thoughts that he had not only seen multiple Veela in his lifetime, but remembered them all perfectly. I hid a smirk when I realized that Veela are women so breathtakingly beautiful that men become momentarily incapacitated by their beauty. All Veela appeared to have an unnatural grace with long, straight blonde hair, flawless skin, and an otherworldly air. This particular man felt they were like 'Goddesses'. When I quietly informed Rosalie of this, her smug smile was almost repulsive. Nevertheless, I was glad they believed Rosalie was a 'Veela' because it seemed to distract them from considering we were anything else but her human companions. However, finding out the truth become an endless and reversible spiral. Now that she knew what a Veela was, if Rosalie was _not_ identified as one by a handsome man, she would exude a huff that quickly became annoying. I was thankful Emmett was unable to hear her thoughts, though he would probably take it in his stride and tease Rosalie later for wanting the attention of a humans anyway.

After twenty minutes of walking around the square, we overheard a conversation that caught our attention. The topic discussed was interesting for two reasons: one, because someone had mentioned seeing Albus Dumbledore since Bathilda had appeared in the square; and two, because multiple inhabitants were either extremely excited about this news, or tossing it aside as complete nonsense. I was curious myself whether this man, who so many admired, was actually present in the town. I led my family closer to this woman who was still announcing to all who would listen that she saw Albus Dumbledore near the Potter's house with a baby in his arms. I tried to ignore the multiple assertions from others that her poor eyesight would not have permitted her to identify who it was, so I could hear her own specific thoughts and memories. Eventually, I was close enough to see that she was well over 100, but her memory was clear and accurate, which I found strange considering her age.

In her mind, I saw a replay of what she saw. Although it was dark, there was an evident silhouette of a tall figure wearing loose material and a pointed hat standing near a house. Then suddenly the figure disappeared into thin air. Having never seen Albus Dumbledore, I could not determine whether it was _him _but it most certainly was a tall, human being capable of performing magic. He did not appear to be holding anything in his arms, so I concluded this person did not escape with the now famous Harry Potter. But there was someone there, and I found myself desiring to understand why they did not join in with the celebrations. My only explanation was they had something more important to do... or perhaps this person believed the death of the Potters was not worthy of celebration…

When the crowd begun to disperse, bored by the elderly lady's continued rants about Albus Dumbledore being here without at least having the decency to say 'hello', I quickly whispered to my family what I had seen in her mind. They nodded their heads in understanding, and I was about to suggest that we walk in the direction Bathilda had pointed to previously in the hope of examining the Potter's house for myself, when a group of locals joined the crowd. Suddenly, the town became more animated as those who had been there from the start, updated the others, who were apparently engrossed in a television show, dinner, or putting their young children back to bed after the explosion. Like their fellow humans, these conversations were followed by their own opinions on the matter even though they were not present to witness most of what occurred.

_I cannot believe none of them saw where He went. If I was there, I would have seen where He disappeared to._

_I didn't hear an explosion._

_The Potters can't be dead- they just can't be._

_The kid could not have survived; they're in denial, the whole lot of them. _

_Ah yes, Mrs Delly. Of course she would have spun some tale about seeing Albus; she has always been so infatuated by him, _one woman thought bitterly, green with jealousy. I suppressed a smirk when I saw images in her mind that indicated she herself was somewhat engrossed in Albus Dumbledore's talents. Concluding that there was little information to gain from continuing to eavesdrop on these renewed conversations regarding the night's events, I inconspicuously asked my family if they were interested in heading north, the same direction Bathilda indicated during her announcement to the town. All of them nodded silently in agreement.

As I begun to cross the square, I heard a different set of thoughts join the array of minds interspersed in my head. Without being conscious of my actions, I found myself slowing my walk, eventually standing stationary in the middle of the square. Unlike the rest of the town, who were excited, curious, and ecstatic with joy, these thoughts, a man's given their tone, were filled with fear and trepidation. I took a brief look around the square to see if I could locate the owner of this highly anxious mind, but I could not find him. In some mysterious way, the thoughts continued to move across the square, and I found myself following them with my gaze even though I could see no one. With each step he made, the man became more determined to find where the confrontation between the 'Dark Lord' and the Potters took place, but he was equally focused on ensuring his presence remained undetected.

Again, I scanned the numerous people around me, trying to spot this allusive person. Where was he? I could sense he was moving towards the north, but his progress was _very_ slow. Was he injured? He did not appear to be in pain. What did he fear happening if this town found out he was here? Was he a Death Eater, as his reference to the 'Dark Lord' suggested? If so, did this mean the Death Eaters now know the fate of their master? Or was he a spy sent here to find out what happened? My search for the owner of the thoughts continued to be fruitless. In order to dodge detection, the man was slowly making his way around the crowd which forced him in my direction. I tried to maintain a relaxed expression as I sensed the person cross the path in front of me. I stared at the empty space, my body tense with fear.

He was invisible- that was my only explanation. But it was impossible for me to prove- I could not ask anyone except perhaps Jasper to confirm my suspicions as trying to detect their heartbeat would be pointless when we were surrounded by hundreds of humans. A bodiless voice was not something I was used to, and it scared me to witness something I believed was impossible. Jasper was immediately by my side, whispering quickly in my ear in the hope of understanding why I was feeling uneasy. Amongst the heightened emotions of the majority, I realized that Jasper was unable to detect the far milder level of emotional intensity the invisible man felt. Nevertheless, I did not answer him, so Jasper watched my gaze as I 'followed' the thoughts 'walk' across the square. Although I could not see him, I was transfixed by this person. I discovered he was different from the rest; when he overheard people still discussing the possibility that Albus Dumbledore was spotted by the elderly lady, he concluded it would have been impossible because Dumbledore would not have allowed himself to be seen. This invisible man also respected Albus Dumbledore immensely, as he silently admonished the elderly lady for forgetting how brilliant and secretive Dumbledore could be. This merely added to my confusion regarding whose side this man was on. Having noticed my concern and discomfort, Carlisle, Esme and Alice stood around me, glancing in the same direction I was even though they did not know what I was trying to see. Emmett and Rosalie continued to walk north, stopping in their tracks when they realized we were not following them.

Then we all heard it. The mysterious person I was trying to find, finally spoke- swore in reaction to almost walking into Emmett. Knowing the man was about to turn around to see if he had been heard, I quickly whispered to my family to turn away from that direction so it would not look suspicious. I remained focused on the man's thoughts as he assessed Emmett who was naturally looking right at him. This unnerved the man, but he remained convinced that his identity was safe due to being invisible. But of course, with our heightened hearing, Emmett and our family had heard him loud and clear over the almost deafening chatter of the inhabitants of Godric's Hollow. The man eventually decided that Emmett was not a threat and continued to walk, but looked back a moment later to make sure he was not being followed. His anxiety increased when he saw Rosalie was also looking in his direction. Like many others, he had assumed Rose was a Veela, and concluded that even if he was heard, no one would suspect it was him. After this, the man continued on his mission, his focus back on Lily Potter and anyone who could inadvertently indicate her potential whereabouts.

I wanted to follow in the invisible man's footsteps for I too wanted a closer look at the Potter's house which everyone was still discussing. But then I decided it would not be advisable, as the man may suspect he was being followed, and I did not want a confrontation with an invisible human- not when we were in this strange territory. Instead, I stayed still and waited for Rose and Emmett to return to my side.

"Did you _hear_ that?" Emmett asked me quietly, his eyes wide with intensity, for he had also realized that the person who almost ran into him was invisible.

I nodded my head in response. "He was invisible," I confirmed his suspicions, which explained to my family why I had stopped walking in the square. But of course, added another realm of uncertainty to our understanding of this population.

"What is he doing here?" Rosalie asked as we all looked north as if trying to see him.

"He is looking for Lily Potter. He hopes she is still alive," I explained to my sister.

"Why is he invisible then? I'm sure someone here would have told him that she is no longer living," Jasper commented delicately.

I shook my head. "From what I understand, he does not want to be detected; I do not think this town would approve of his presence."  
"Do you think he is one of those Death Eaters?" Alice asked.

I nodded, my eyes narrowed in contemplation. "It is possible, but he has respect for Albus Dumbledore, who I believe is the leader of the opposing side, so I am not quite sure which side he allies himself with," I whisper quickly to my family so any eavesdroppers would be unable to hear the topic of our discussion.

However, our conversation was interrupted when the fireworks Alice saw hours ago via her gift, began in the west. As I had expected, these fireworks did not explode to create the colourful lights humans seem so enthralled with. Instead, these 'fireworks' appeared to be, for lack of a better word, 'streamers' that silently exploded out of four sticks held by two men and two women. No, not sticks: _wands_. My family and I quickly reminded one another to appear excited and happy rather than irrefutably interested and suspicious of the wands they were holding. Colours of pink, red, green, blue, purple and yellow flew up into the sky, arranged by the caster in simple designs. The wizards and witches that I now knew them to be were creative, writing various words in the air with their particular colour. Their creations would remain bright against the dark sky for at least thirty seconds so their audience could admire them, and then disappear. Then others began to join in, holding up their wands and shooting various colours in the sky, screaming and shouting in excitement. Cries of: "To Harry Potter the boy who lived!" became stuck in my head, and soon the sky was lit up with an array of streamers originating from at least two hundred wands.

It is difficult to render vampires speechless, but that is what we were. It had been almost an hour since we knew those around us could perform a 'killing curse'. We had our suspicions that they were magical beings- human, but capable of performing magic. However, such speculations are different from _witnessing_ magic- not merely the capacity of _one_ witch or wizard, but an entire town. Every adult- at least two hundred people had their wands pointed to the sky, casting spells that either added to the noise or the beauty of this amazing night for them. My family had mastered the happy, excited look on our faces, but beneath that façade were seven vampires, trying not to appear too tense as we realized we were surrounded by hundreds of adults who could perform magic- magic we were uncertain of because we did not know their limits. For the first time that night, we all felt vulnerable. Although we could easily kill at least one hundred of them in a matter of seconds between us, we were significantly outnumbered and could certainly be destroyed somehow by these powerful humans. None of us spoke to one another for fear that our hyperarousal would initiate a foolish attack that we perceived to be our only defense. But for the moment we were safe, both according to my instincts and Alice's visions, and these were the facts I kept reminding myself. Jasper was struggling with it however, due to needing to withstand his own fears in addition to all of ours. Knowing that we needed to get away from the evident threat placed before us, I gently placed my hand on Jasper's shoulder and begun to lead him away from the square towards the north. My family naturally followed us. Jaz turned around to look at me, wondering if I had decided to move because someone had suspected us. I merely shook my head at my brother, and squeezed his shoulder to reassure him we were safe.

As we followed the road up a slight hill, my family had begun to relax; it helped to not see hundreds of wands that could have easily been turned towards us.

Emmett was the first to recover.

_I can't believe on our last day here we discover that witches and wizards exist! Hopefully we will have the chance to return some day, _Emmett thought to himself. Despite the fear and threat I felt being around so many of them, I too wanted to learn more about this species of human-beings.

A majority of the town were enjoying the celebrations in the square that few people were looking at the Potter's house, which was my intended destination. I was certain the mysterious invisible man would have found out the truth by now and probably gone home. I hadn't detected his thoughts again, so he must not have re-entered the town square; he probably judged it as too risky. We walked slowly, for us, as I wanted to make sure we did not accidently walk past the dwelling everyone was talking about. As it turned out, it would have been difficult to miss; there was a large gate that appeared to surround the property, and as many had reported, half of the roof was missing from the dwelling.

Esme gasped upon seeing the destruction, our first real evidence that what people were gossiping about was at least partially true. The rubble surrounding the house was filled with dust, shattered tiles and broken bricks. It was difficult to imagine that this was the result of one person trying to kill a baby. Carlisle was sickened by the sight, primarily because we knew, as everyone did, that this was the result of murder. Carlisle found it difficult to grasp that someone would intentionally try to kill a baby even if they are, as Emmett joked, dangerous. Jasper was eying the dwelling, wary of the possibility that the bodies were still in there… bleeding. But I could not smell even a hint of blood, and had the feeling, given what I had heard and seen around me, that death in this world somehow did not involve blood. I reassured Jasper of this, but he did not seem convinced. We stood, silently looking at the dwelling, knowing it would be unwise to say our observations out loud considering there were still a few people walking past and looking at the destruction themselves.

After ten minutes, I decided to walk back the way we came, hoping to get a glimpse of the side of the house. When I had gained a decent view of the back right corner of the dwelling, I tried to see if there was anything unusual that I could sense that would have been missed by human observers. I detected nothing of importance.

Suddenly I could hear someone's thoughts that were almost incomprehensible due to being entrenched in unspeakable sorrow. I felt deeply saddened as the thoughts reached me, and was horrified to realize that they belonged to someone in the house. Did they survive the attack? Could one of the Potters have survived? Or was it a member of the public who was foolish enough to enter and saw the Potters' corpses? I begun to walk towards the house feeling compelled to find out more- assist the survivor, or otherwise learn more of what was inside. My family was distressed by my sudden action, though I saw in Alice's mind that she did not foresee anything bad happening to me. My desire for more information overcame any restraint I had to stay away. Carlisle was petrified that I would be seen or my behaviour would be viewed as abnormal by onlookers, but those watching me knew I was as curious as they were about the scene. Suddenly, the back door to the house opened. The angle I was standing at meant I could not see the door open, but I heard it crash as it swung on its hinges and hit the side of the house. A moment later, I saw a dark figure, a man collapse out of the house, landing stomach first onto the dusty ground. Had someone kicked him out? No, I could only hear one set of thoughts from that direction. Had he fallen? Was he injured? Bleeding? I barely had time to register that my family were ignorant of what occurred before I saw the dark figure struggle to stand, which seemed extremely difficult for him to do. His thoughts were still dulled by his grief; he desperately wanted to leave the house. Before I could find out any more about this man or what he saw, he disappeared into thin air.

Disappointment went through me- I had hoped to identify him. What had he seen? Why did he stumble from the building? He seemed so grief stricken, and yet I saw nothing in his mind that indicated what he saw in the house that horrified him so completely. Perhaps he was trying to block it out? Or was his mind so numb, so incomprehensible that he literally could not think? This man's mind and situation confused me even more so than the invisible man who walked through the square earlier.

"Edward!" Alice called out to me from across the street. I saw in her mind an image of her watch. Immediately I turned around and made an effort to walk at human speed back to my family. So much time had passed; we needed to leave now if we were to arrive at the airport with enough time to spare. Due to our urgency to get back to our cars, undisturbed, I decided not to tell my family what I saw until we were safely in our cars.

Thankfully our walk through the square went unnoticed; the 'fireworks' were still going and the celebration did not appear to be close to finishing. A few people waved at us as if knowing we were leaving, but mostly they moved out of our way, too engrossed in gossip or caught up in their own happiness to care where we were going. Finally, we arrived safely to our cars and piled in without a word. I heard Carlisle tell me through his thoughts that I could lead the way to the airport. He also requested I ask Alice or Jasper to call Esme so we could discuss what we saw and heard in Godric's Hollow.

So once my family piled into our cars, and I led our small convoy out of the side street and back onto the main road, my family and I began to converse from within our corresponding cars. It was times such as these that I was grateful for our heightened hearing ability. We adamantly discussed what we had witnessed and heard. Naturally, Emmett was over the moon that his suggestion had led to an interesting experience for us and the discovery of a whole new species of human-beings. It took a good part of fifteen minutes before he was satisfied we had properly praised him for the _amazing_ suggestion of going to Godric's Hollow. This required multiple assertions from me and even Jasper that we were wrong to consider it a fruitless, pointless trip and for ever doubting his brilliance. Of course, we all knew, even Emmett that it was by coincidence that his idea was such a success, as without the death of the Potters and the disappearance of He who must apparently not be named, the trip would have been as exciting as watching a group of strange adults wear ridiculously coloured robes.

Eventually, we were permitted to discuss other implications of finding this wizarding population. Did they know about our species of vampire? Did they know how to destroy us? Did other members of our kind know about thesemagical humans? Were the Volturi aware of their existence? Was it even possible that they were ignorant when there were sure to be many witches and wizards around the world, not just in England? If they knew about them, why hadn't they tried to kill them? Because they are dangerous? Because they could be useful? What sort of gifts would these magical humans have if they were transitioned? And if the Volturi did not know about them, which seemed unlikely, was it our responsibility to inform them of these potentially dangerous humans? Or any consequences if we kept it a secret? After speculating about these greater issues, we begun to talk of the Potters, their son, the man no one is willing to speak the name of, and we even speculated what his name could be. Emmett joked that perhaps it was something common like 'Tom' which would be unfortunate for anyone actually named Tom. Of course, Emmett was trying to be funny, and it did amuse us slightly, but ultimately we concluded this murderous wizard must have had an unusual name even though it seemed rather pointless since no one was willing to use it. We also talked about Albus Dumbledore and felt, given the wealth of information we had collected from at least one hundred different conversations that he was a powerful wizard and the one to oppose the murderous man as the leader of the 'good' side. And finally, we talked about the invisible man who seemed determine to remain hidden from his fellows. I felt he was either a spy or someone from the murderous wizard's side; the level of anxiety he felt indicated he feared death or severe injury if he was caught in Godric's Hollow. I wondered where he was now, and relayed to my family my suspicion that may be he was the man I saw stumble out of the house in some sort of numbed existence, his mind barely functioning. Although they asked, I found it difficult to determine whether these two minds belonged to the same individual; they were so different from one another.

When we had finished discussing the above, Alice and Jaz talked quietly amongst themselves, but I could not escape the invisible man. As I was the only one to sense his thoughts and possibly watched him stumble from the Potters' house, I knew him better than my family who merely heard him swore. I was thinking of him when my mind was suddenly confronted by a vision Alice was having.

For a reason not evident in her mind, Alice saw me pulling up our car on the side of a narrow road. But none of us exited the vehicle. Instead I turned around from the front seat to look at my siblings. They both looked strained, but no matter how I tried, I could not explain their tensed expressions. This- whatever this was, would make us late to the airport with a mere half hour to get through customs.

"Why?" I demanded of my sister in response to her vision and the consequences I knew would arise if it came true. Why would we need to pull over? Her vision was not clear once the tyres came to a stop. Did we have a flat tyre? Did we hit someone? Nothing was certain. Jasper, who noticed his wife was caught up in our future, felt confused and frustrated not knowing what she had seen.

"What's happening?" Jasper asked, trying to maintain control over his frustration that he is often left out of these conversations.

"We are going to be late," Alice said in a neutral tone as she tried to search the future for the cause of our delay.

"Why?" Jasper asked quietly, knowing I had just asked the same question and that Alice, by the look in her eyes was searching for the answer.

Eventually she shook her head, and I knew what she was about to report.

"I cannot see the cause. It is too blurry at the moment- it's not clear," she told us with a sigh, and I knew she was frustrated when her gift did not provide her with he answers she wanted. "I can see us pulling over, but I don't know _why _or _what_ happens after that point in time, except that we will be late," Alice sighed, resigned to the strange limitation of her gift in that moment.

"Carlisle," Jasper said authoritatively and loud enough for the occupants of the other car to hear. "Alice has had a vision that we will be late to the airport-"

"What is going to hold us up?" Rosalie sighed.

"Alice sees us pulling over," Jasper continued, ignoring Rosalie's question, "but the cause is unclear. We must remain vigilant for what may cause the delay. With some luck, we can avoid the interruption before it arises- swerve to avoid a pothole or a person for that matter…"

"No, I think it is more complicated than that, Jaz. I would have seen a person on the road or a flat tyre, but the car looked normal," Alice explained patiently.

"How did we look?" Jasper asked, concerned that for the first time, Alice's vision was not much help to us.

"Distressed," I answered him, remembering the stricken look on my face and Jasper's in Alice's vision. I wished I could hear our thoughts in Alice's vision, but of course, that would be impossible.

This knowledge agitated Jasper. Alice noticed and placed her hand in his.

"It will be okay," she insists gently to him. "I see us still boarding the plane and leaving tonight, we'll just arrive there with only half an hour at our disposal, that's all. We all make it, Jaz. No one gets hurt," she promised him.

"Regardless, we should speed to make up for future lost time. Remain alert for any indication of what may slow us down," Jasper ordered, even though Alice was shaking her head.

"It's more complicated than that," Alice reinforced again. "If we could see it coming, we simply wouldn't be delayed," she said slightly exasperated in frustration. "I would see it if it was seeable!"

"We will let you know if Alice's vision changes, but all that matters is we still board the plane tonight," Jasper said, ignoring Alice's protests in the hope that she was wrong about the restrictions of her own gift. After everything that had happened in the past couple of hours, Jasper seemed unable to accept yet another unexpected event could occur without his wife's prior knowledge.

"Yes, that is the most important thing," Carlisle said rather loudly to drown out Rosalie's protests, who was clearly bent on making a fuss about things mysteriously not being on schedule tonight. "Thank you for updating us, Jasper. We will keep an eye out for any potential trouble. However, given you three are at front, you will likely discover what the cause is before we do."

I press my foot down on the accelerator eager to get a head start before the delay arises and we are forced to stop. Speeding twice the legal limit, Carlisle close behind me, we drive towards the airport. Recalling the map I studied a couple of hours before leaving home earlier that evening, I remind myself where I must turn to take the quickest route back to the airport. Although the route we chose was longer than the others, it had few traffic lights that could hold us up, especially when travelling at these speeds. I took a left hand turn onto a small back street, and I knew we were going the correct way. From memory this street went through a town known as 'Spinners End'. No one was in sight, so I drove far faster than would be permitted myself in such a narrow lane. But we were running out of time, and I could not sense the thoughts of anyone nearby.

However, this assessment of my surroundings changed within seconds. Without warning I heard someone's thoughts impede into my mind: desperate, traumatized, upset and verging on being dangerously intoxicated.

_It was my fault. I cannot live like this._

Suddenly, I am braking heavily, the tires of the car screeching to a stop. I heard Rosalie and Esme's screams from the car behind me, and Emmett's curses as Carlisle slammed on the Mercedes brakes, but I barely paid attention to it. I sat rigid in the front seat of the car, my hands gripping the steering wheel. I looked out the windshield and saw a pub almost directly in front of me at the end of the street. The owner of these thoughts was in there, preparing to kill himself. And I could see why; vivid image after vivid image entered his mind, though he quickly tried to push them out by drowning his sorrow in alcohol. This must have been the distraction Alice saw- the cause of our delay. But I was determined that this man would not be the cause of our family running late. It was sad and unfortunate that we happened across someone who was in the process of taking their life, but it was not up to us to stop them despite how tragic it was. But the longer I listened to his thoughts, the more his mind resonated with my own. I had heard countless thoughts that night at Godric's Hollow, that it was difficult to place his- he could have been anyone… until I realized that most of them lived in Godric's Hollow not all the way in this dingy suburb. And that was when I knew it was the invisible man- I recognized the tone of his mind. But every so often, the numbness I recalled noticing when he stumbled out of the house forced its way in to protect the man's conscience from consuming him with guilt. Yes, this was him, and it was clear that he knew Lily Potter's fate and wanted to join her. His pain was too great to continue living in agony.

Through all this, I had not paid attention to my companions. Alice had been quietly shrieking, wondering what was happening, almost distraught at being ignored by both me and her husband. I wondered why Jasper hadn't relieved Alice of her distress, when I saw his face in the review mirror: Pained beyond expression. I tried to examine Jasper's face in the mirror but this was insufficient. So I turned around in my seat to look at my brother, Alice's eyes wide with worry and concern. This moment was what Alice had foreseen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the rest of our family approach the car, and I could hear their thoughts were also demanding to know what the hell happened. Rosalie's was the loudest, insisting that I almost caused a car accident, which I probably nearly did. I automatically reached down near the handbrake to press the button which locked all the doors. When Carlisle reached out to open the front passenger door, he frowned when he realized I had locked him out.

"Edward," he spoke quietly, knowing that we were surrounding by houses on either side; he didn't want to speak too loudly. I heard him, but ignored him; his thoughts were not as urgent as Jasper's.

"Jaz," I said rather loudly, knowing I would need to provide a significant distraction to gain his attention. His eyes snapped towards mine.

"_What_ are we doing here?" he demanded of me in a distressed hiss, loud enough for all of our family to hear in and outside of the car.

"I'm sorry," I begin, knowing that if I hadn't chosen to stop, we would still be driving and Jasper's experience of this man's pain would have been fleeting or non-existent.

"Tell the others to get back in their car and drive off," he insisted heatedly, closing his eyes tightly in an effort to block out this man's pain who was at that moment briefly reliving his discovery of Lily Potter's body in her house. I cringed away from the man's memory, and Jasper's fists clenched tightly on his lap.

"What's happening?" Alice demanded for the sake of her and everyone else staring at us, her eyes flitting between my face and Jasper's tensed body.

"Let's go, Edward- _now_!" Jasper insisted dangerously, choking his words out. I looked sympathetically at Alice who felt so useless as she hugged her husband to her in an effort to comfort him. I then glanced at the others and gave them a nod of my head suggesting that we will leave as Jasper requested. I will explain everything to them later once we are out of the man's vicinity- it wouldn't do to talk about it now when Jasper was in so much pain, and my mind was occasionally invaded with far too graphic memories. Nevertheless, I felt disappointed that I couldn't stay longer- the man had me curious about his situation, especially his love for this woman who was married to another with a baby boy. What did he blame himself for that made him feel suicide was his only option? How much did he love her? But I needed to be content living in ignorance because I could not force Jasper to stay for a moment longer, even though I was unlikely to be the only curious one. We had a plane to catch. Perhaps one day I would find out the man's history, as he would be dead before I returned, but without knowing his name I found it unlikely. I had to accept that I would never know- he would die as he wanted to, and his history, his feelings and thoughts would die with him.

I started the ignition, at which point, the atmosphere inside the car changed.

Alice gasped as she, and consequently I, saw the future change- not our future, but that of those around us. In an attempt to find out what was happening to her partner and me, Alice had tried to find someone nearby whose future was bleak or potentially at risk, thus providing a reason for my sudden braking and Jasper's distress. She did not start at the pub, but the block of run down flats to our left. The inhabitants futures were non-eventful as were all those living along the left hand side of the back street. But just prior to my starting the ignition, these family's futures changed drastically. Alice saw a future where the adults and even the children were slaves, chained to one another as they left their homes underfed, pale and terrified. Next moment, we saw a group of six people pointing their wands in warning at the fifty person line of slaves. At random, a slave would drop to the ground writhing and screaming in unbearable agony.

"Oh God, Edward!" Alice exclaimed, knowing that I would have seen what she saw. "What changed? Their futures were fine before!" she cried out, clearly distressed by the graphic future she saw for these humans.

"What is it? Why aren't we leaving?" Jasper whispered through his teeth; he was at the end of his tether, unable to comprehend yet another unforeseen event, when he was already struggling under the immense grief from the man in the pub.

I looked at my brother sympathetically knowing, perhaps selfishly, that I could not leave without taking a moment to at least consider intervening for the benefit of so many.

"If you help him Edward, I swear-" And I knew what he wanted to say to me, and it pained me that he already knew I was choosing to put him through more torture by not driving off. I turned off the ignition and exited the car, unable to bear my brother's feelings of betrayal and distress. I heard Carlisle and the rest of my family exit the Mercedes and approach me, leaving Alice and a tortured Jasper in the Volvo.

"Edward, what's the matter?" Carlisle asked urgently realizing that something serious must have changed given last he knew, I was willing to drive away to relieve my brother of his pain. Carlisle knew I would not force Jasper to stay here unless necessary.

But I couldn't speak to him yet. I held my hand up to indicate I needed to concentrate, and then walked slowly down the street.

"Edward!" Rosalie hissed, confused and frustrated by my lack of information to them. But I ignored her, searching for the vital information I needed.

_Drink will only render me unconscious- the poison is my only option._

That was my answer. This was what changed; drinking himself to 'death' would not have worked- he would have been unconscious, he would have lived, and his neighbours would have had satisfying and fulfilling lives. But now, he had poison- this was a guaranteed method of death, and indeed it would be successful.

I turned around to look at the Volvo and indicated to Alice that I knew what had changed. I felt my family's eyes on me, all of them growing physically and emotionally strained that I still remained so cryptic and silent. Alice struggled between staying with her husband, who she was trying to calm down by explaining in a soothing manner why we were still in Spinner's End, and speaking with me to find more information about the mysterious change in so many futures. I saw her kiss Jasper gently on his lips through the dark tinted windows, and then she quickly exited the car, closed the door and was immediately by my side. Her gaze rested on me, her eyes narrowed in concern.

_Please tell me we will not be here long, _she almost begged of me for her husband's sake and thus, for her own.

"He is not coping is he?" I asked sympathetically, feeling the pressure of Jasper's thoughts on my own mind. His, in combination with the man's in the pub made it difficult to concentrate, but I needed to communicate to Alice what I knew.

"Someone intends to commit suicide, Alice. Their original plan would not have worked, but now… it will."

I was being intentionally cryptic, but Alice understood my meaning.

"The loss of one person's life could cause all that?" she asked in disbelief, referring back to the vision she saw.

_If he dies, these people will suffer cruelly._

I nodded at her in agreement, my face solemn.

"Cause all of _what_?" Rosalie hissed, approaching us, her hands on her hips. But Alice and I ignored her; we did not have the time or patience to deal with her questions when we were running out of both.

"We must do something," Alice insisted, but she was torn between changing the future if we could, and leaving it all behind for Jasper's sake. "But it could be dangerous."

I stared at Alice wondering whether she knew exactly how dangerous it could be.

_Jasper told me someone is grieving- in a lot of pain. Is this person mourning over the Potters?_ She asked me tentatively having foreseen my question to her.

I nodded my head.

Alice bit her lip. _A witch or a wizard?_

"The latter," I informed her.

"Seriously guys, what are you talking about? I want in!" Emmett insisted in a joking manner, but I knew he was becoming frustrated like his wife.

"Edward, you need to tell us what is happening. Perhaps we can assist you?" Esme suggested quietly, approaching me and placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

I turned to look at her, then at Carlisle, Emmett, Rose, and Alice, wondering whether it was fair to make a decision that could jeopardize my whole family. But none of them truly understood this man as I did- the extent of his grief, the remorse, and his solid desire to die because it was literally too difficult for him to breathe. I could relate to his desires; I remembered how I felt when I first became a vampire, my thirst of blood, my desire to kill innocent people. If death was as simple as drinking a poisonous concoction, I would have, without hesitation. But was it fair to intervene- to somehow convince him to continue living such a torturous life for the sake of the 'Muggles' who lived in his town? Who was I to determine how much of his sanity he should sacrifice for the well-being of others? And most importantly, was it wise for me, a vampire to speak with a wizard in a Muggle town? The decision I wanted to choose seemed to be riddled with problems, especially because I did not know how capable the wizard was. I should not play God, none of us should- it was not our right, especially in a world we were unfamiliar with. I could have sought my family's advice, but time was running out, and somehow I knew I needed to try. But what could anyone say or do to change his mind?

Nothing.

But then I realized what I _could_ say- there was one thing that may alter his decision, but without knowing the man, I had no way of telling whether my plan would work or be worth the risk.

"Yes! It will work, Edward!" Alice exclaimed and as she did, I saw the result of my plan; the futures of the man's neighbours returned to exactly how they were before as if the man never died.

"What will work?" Esme enquired, her hand still resting on my shoulder, and I felt terrible for ignoring her question.

Finally, I had made my decision and when I did I saw Alice's vision clearly depicting the families around us have a satisfying future once again.

Finally, I nodded my head at Alice, and then turned to Carlisle and Esme.

"There is something I must do," I tell my parents simply.

"Oh give me a break," Rosalie sighed impatiently.

Carlisle looked around at our family, feeling uncomfortably ignorant of all that had happened since I pulled over the first time. Eventually he sighed and begun to speak: "Edward, I-" but I knew what he wanted to say, so I answered him before he could finish; we were running out of time.

"I promise to stay safe. If there is even the slightest indication that I may be identified as anything other than human, I promise to leave efficiently and safely. There will be no deaths tonight, Carlisle," I whispered quietly and quickly to him. "I will make sure our secret remains safe, and so will I," I promised him.

Although they did not know even half of the situation I was faced with, they believed I was entering the pub where they presumed a single human was drinking. Only Alice, myself and perhaps Jasper knew this person was a wizard. I did not want to alarm my family with this knowledge, so I tried to hide my own reservations; what I was walking into?

"Do not follow me in there, but stay hidden incase the neighbours look out of their windows," I advised him. "If Jasper wants to leave the vicinity for a few minutes, let him," I continue, "but as you know, he will be the most effective at keeping you updated with what is happening."

"His emotions are intense," Carlisle commented as he remembered the brief glimpse he had of Jasper in the back seat of the Volvo when we originally pulled over.

"Yes," I said gently, feeling tremendously guilty. This triggered my desire to enter the pub and be done with the conversation so Jasper's misery could also come to an end. "Alice will be helpful for you too. At the moment, she sees me exiting the pub safely; nothing bad will happen to me or the human with whom I am about to interact." Carlisle seemed satisfied with this, but was of course still reluctant to grant me permission. But I knew this was the best I would get from him in such an ambiguous situation.

"Very well, Edward. We will be close at hand should you need assistance," Carlisle sighed, resigned.

"Thank you, Carlisle."

"Be careful," Alice whispered to me.

"I will, keep an eye on my future for me," I smiled grimly at her.

"You know I will," she said seriously, giving me a hug. Then she ran back to Jasper in the hope she could provide some comfort to him.

Taking an unnecessary breath, I gave Carlisle a final look, and then glanced briefly at my other family members.

"Don't follow me," I ordered them gently, and then gave them each a small smile of reassurance.

_You better not make us miss our plane, _Rosalie threatened me. I gave a small chuckle; I was glad she did not know what _else_ I was risking by entering the pub.

I walked quickly towards the dingy public building in front of me. I could feel my family's stares at the back of my head, their voices whispering quickly as they tried to work out what I was about to do which was near impossible for them to determine without Alice or Jasper present. But I imagined, if we spoke loud enough and the moved a few feet closer, they would be able to hear some of our conversation. As I walked, I only hoped Alice would be able to warn me in time if any of our futures significantly altered as a result of what I was about to do.

_My life is not worth living after everything I have done._

This, as well as countless other thoughts assaulted my mind. I could barely walk into the pub, his thoughts and emotions were so powerful, and the images of what he found in that house were nothing less than horrific. But I knew I needed to enter; he did not know that his death would mean the death and torture of many others. And more importantly, he did not know what I had concluded in a matter of minutes: he was wrong; his life was worth saving.

Determined to convince him of this, knowing how many it would benefit countless others, I reached out, and turned the handle.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's note: Sorry to leave it there, but as you can imagine, the next chapter will contain the full conversation that takes place between Severus and Edward. And obviously, this chapter would be ridiculously long (as if it isn't already, right?) if I went any further! If you are interested for more detail as to what Severus saw when he entered the Potter's house, feel free to read chapter 2 of 'Leave me'. I warn you that it is somewhat graphic. Chapter 3 for both stories will consist of two different perspectives of the same conversation. I will probably write Severus' POV first, but we'll see :) I hope to finish both POVs before I return to uni, but we'll see how I go- I have a feeling this conversation will be a whopper to write!

Also just a quick note (which I mentioned in chapter 2 of 'Leave me' so apologies to those who have already read it) that I do not endorse the action of suicide and take it very seriously (given my chosen career of Psychology). Having said this though, I do empathise with those who feel suicide is their only option (as Severus does at this point in time), and like Edward, I would want to talk to them about it.

Thank you once again for reading, and for getting through such a long chapter. Please take a minute to let me know what you thought of it! Thanks for all your support! Hopefully the next update will be ready in a week :)


	4. Chapter 3 Forgiveness

Author's note: Firstly, it's wonderful to finally be able to write again. I missed my stories and readers SO much! My fingers have been itching for ages to continue writing, this story especially.

So welcome back to 'A life worth living'. I am SO sorry to leave you hanging for the conversation between Severus and Edward- uni work consumed all of my time, so I literally had no time to spend writing. Thank you all for being so patient with my updates; I could not have asked for more respectful readers.

My plan will be to update regularly from now until end of February 2013 (except over a couple of weeks in early January). How I plan to do this is to write shorter chapters so I can update more frequently. We'll see how that goes!

Having said that, this chapter is very long, so I hope that somewhat makes up for the lack of updates over the last few months.

Before we get into it, I just wanted to mention a slight change I made to Chapter 2 of this story. Originally, the chapter ended with Edward turning the door handle and _entering _the bar. However, I since decided to have Edward ponder for a bit longer about what he was going to do _before_ walking into the bar. Consequently, I changed the ending of Chapter 2 slightly so Edward turns the doorknob, but does _not_ walk in.

That's all I'll say for now

I hope you enjoy Chapter 3- Forgiveness.

Happy reading!

'A life worth living'

Chapter 3- Forgiveness

Edward's POV

I felt the rough brass beneath my hand as I held onto the door handle, unable to enter the pub due to the thoughts of the grieving man within. The intensity of his pain literally prevented me from moving. Would I even be capable of speaking to him when I found it so difficult to function in his presence? His agonywas overwhelming him, tumbling in relentless waves as they crashed into his chest. When I felt a moment's reprieve, a renewed blanket of irrepressible sadness stronger than the wave before, would consume both of us. It would have been simple for me to walk away for a few minutes to escape his grief, but this man could not. I had to pause to consider what I would ultimately be requesting of him: to endure this paralysing grief for perhaps the rest of his life in exchange for the freedom of others. I knew it would be unjust and unfair to expect such a tremendous sacrifice to be made by a human, even if he was able to alter the future in such a significant way. I knew myself and Jasper would struggle surviving with such emotions- such despair- such _hopelessness_.

The loss of a mate in our species almost equated to death. This man's love for Lily was not likely to be as deep or as whole as vampires love their mates, but he most certainly loved her, and it was not my place to dictate how much grief he should be able to cope with. Although I did not know what it meant to love as deeply as this man, my siblings, or my parents, if Carlisle were extricated from the world, I knew I would struggle to continue my existence. So, as I stood at the door, my hand still poised on the handle, I considered once again whether it would be right to force the lives of others onto this man's shoulders when he believed his own was not worth living. Should I be meddling with the fate he has chosen for himself? Many questions with endless possible answers continued to develop in the recesses of my mind.

Within a second I was able to form a conclusion I felt comfortable with: No, I had no right, but I _did_ have a responsibility to inform him of what I knew. It was imperative this be done without putting my species or his at further risk. Before Alice left, my plan was to inform him discreetly of what she had Seen. At that particular point in time, she saw that such knowledge would sway the man's decision, so the future of his neighbours remained peaceful and free. But I did not know then how I would approach the topic or exactly what I would say. I could not simply burden him with such a revelation; some small talk would need to be involved. Without Alice close at hand, I needed to be cautious; even small talk could lead to catastrophic consequences…

I knew Alice was watching my future wherever she was, but unfortunately she was beyond the reach of my gift. When Jasper was ready, I knew they would both return to the pub where I could utilise both of their gifts once again. Until that time came, however, I was resolved to be cautious. I also hoped to calm or distract this man from his grief so Jasper could endure being in his presence.

_Easier said than done, _I sighed to myself, wondering whether a conversation with him could distract _me _from the physical pull his emotions had on me.

Nevertheless, I forced myself forward causing the door to creak quietly open barely more than an inch. My family's breathing had ceased as they waited for the door to swing open and the beginnings of conversation. However, I found my legs unable to move forward; my mind was suddenly bombarded with multiple images.

_What's wrong, Edward? _Esme asked me through her thoughts, concerned that my rigidity meant I sensed danger.

"Nothing," I whispered so quietly a human could not have heard, as I struggled to cope with the numerous, vivid, and emotionally laden images of Lily Potter that infiltrated my mind.

God he missed her deeply- a pining so intense I wished my conscience would allow me to walk away just to end my own agony.

He was reliving the precious moments he had with her, and hoped his death would reunite him with the woman he loves. However, he believed it unlikely; she would be in Heaven, a place he felt he would not be welcome. I closed my eyes in recognition of the similarity this traumatised man had with me as I too believed I was unworthy of a place amongst those with full, untarnished souls.

However, this was where our similarities ended; I have never loved as keenly as him, and he could not have killed as many as I have during my existence. I saw no reason why Heaven would not welcome him- his soul was not maimed or destroyed or absent as mine was…

I could hear my family shifting their weight behind me; disconcerted by my tensed stature and silence. However, their thoughts barely registered in my mind in comparison to the sorrow and longing I felt pull at me from within the pub. The man's favourite memory of Lily was crystal clear in his mind: she was perhaps fourteen with the bright green, almond shaped eyes and long red hair I now associated with Lily Potter. Her face was glowing with a dazzling smile and she appeared to be kindly teasing him about one thing or another. My mind registered that she was beautiful and happy, but my dead heart felt unnaturally heavy and empty, just as his did. Moments when he was not mentally and physically in an unrelenting turmoil, this poor man was completely numb. I could not decide which was worse.

I was grateful Jasper was still in the car; he did not need to feel this- this _ache_ that made me want to release the door, walk down the stairs and drive away from this man's overwhelming grief. But there were greater issues of importance, ones that extended beyond any of our discomfort. My conscience would not let me escape.

In an attempt to distract my mind from the near physical burden his thoughts had on me, I redirected my focus to the bartender's perspective so I could look at the man through his eyes. Thankfully, the bartender was watching his customer which allowed me to see the man without being physically present. Through the bartender's human eyes I could a thin, pale man who was slouched over his glass. I could barely see his face, so I could not determine how old he was. I supposed I would have time to determine that later. His hair was shoulder length, straight and black. There was a strange sheen to it, and I wondered if it was greasy, wet, or perhaps a trick of the light. His long white fingers gripped his glass tightly, and their occasional movement was the only sign this man was even alive. He was almost a shell, and given the intensity of his thoughts and emotions, I was not surprised. Nevertheless, it was difficult to see someone, even a stranger, look so incredibly hopeless. And yet, the bartender believed this man was simply shy, and perhaps antisocial. To most people who were not privy to his inner torture, the man would appear to be introverted and perhaps tired. Thus, a part of me was impressed by this wizard; how could he be in so much pain and yet remain eerily composed? This was quite extraordinary for a human; if his feelings were my own, I would be pulling at my hair or inflicting some other form of physical injury merely to lessen my emotional agony.

I had been so focused on the man who occupied most of my attention that I had not given much thought to the other human in the building. Thankfully, neither occupant had noticed that the door had been cracked open slightly, nor that someone was standing on the top step. I hoped to keep it that way until I could gain further knowledge about the bartender. Unlike his customer, the tender's mind was quite comfortable to reside in; his thoughts were gentle and non-judgemental, which I suppose would work to his advantage as the owner of a bar.

The other man's thoughts distracted me, as I saw the same memory of the young, fourteen year old Lily once again. As he took another drink, I felt his brief pang of hope that soon he would see her beautiful face again and be forgiven for what he had done…

_What had he done?_ I pondered, attempting to understand his thoughts as I remembered back to when we were in Godric's Hollow, but nothing came to mind. This boy was not present when Lily and James Potter were murdered, so how could he be involved?

Within seconds I felt as if my stomach sank in on itself. I knew this meant the man was about to relive his part in her death. I tensed in anticipation of the renewed grief, and the impending addition of remorse and guilt to the already overwhelming concoction of emotions this man was experiencing.

The image of Lily disappeared and was replaced with a looming, tall dark figure who possessed a flattened nose and snake-like eyes. I was certain this was not the natural form of the dark wizard's face. The man recalled greeting the other as 'My Lord', after which he proceeded to tell his master about a prophecy he had heard. From what I could understand through the cryptic wording of the prophecy, the Dark Lord's 'match' would be a boy, born at the end of July ('as the seventh month dies') to parents who have escaped this dark wizard three times ('thrice defied him'). I waited, hoping to discover who it referred to, but the man pushed the memory aside.

An overwhelming feeling of hate- not towards the dark wizard, but towards himself arose within him; for speaking, for being so thoughtless, for being a Death Eater to begin with.

It was no wonder he was in so much agony; he was not merely grieving- he did not simply miss her, he _hated _himself for 'causing' her death.

Although his self-hate was unmistakable and almost as strong as his grief, I could not share his hatred. I and anyone else who understood this man would know he told his master the prophecy without knowing it could have referred to his beloved Lily.

_She would still be alive, _he reprimanded himself angrily, his face tightening slightly at the thought. But he was being relentless in the numerous attacks he forced upon his conscience. It was clear to me now that his mission for this' Dark Lord' was to share the words of that prophecy, so he should not be punishing himself for speaking. To think he was thoughtless was harsh on his part; I doubt he would have acted without thinking. As to being a Death Eater, the name given to a follower of this 'Dark Lord', I had no doubt he had reasons for joining that side…

But these facts were ultimately irrelevant to his self-perceived betrayal of Lily Potter and his hand in her death. Somewhere in the depths of his despair, he must have known, as I did, that he would have taken the words of that prophecy to his grave if he knew who it referred to. His love for this girl was worth more than his own life. Not even I knew of the love he felt towards the late Lily Potter except vicariously through my mated family members.

Now that she was gone, there was no one else in his life, no one to love or sacrifice himself for. No one would ever need or want anything from him.

_Or so he believed._

_I_ wanted something from this man, but having been so focused on his mind and the bartender's for ten minutes, so much time had already been wasted. I wanted to act quickly before the alcohol spiralled him so deep into his grief that nothing could bring him out. But I also needed to wait for Alice to return so I could use her gift to proceed safely. I reminded myself that my goal was to calm or distract the man from his emotions so Jasper, and thus Alice, could be near him again.

Taking a deep unnecessary breath, I turned around to glance at my family, grateful that they had trusted me when I said "nothing" was wrong. Nevertheless, they were watching me apprehensively.

"I will not be long," I reassured them.

Rosalie snorted. _Sure, if you ever manage to walk through the door._

I ignored her snarky remark. Her husband on the other hand gave me the thumbs up, but his thoughts reflected his concern; Rose, Carlisle, Esme, and he were still uncertain what lay waiting for me inside the bar. Those who did know what was at stake were presumably in a car five hundred feet away.

I attempted to ignore his concerns as I gave Carlisle a brief nod, and smiled at my mother before I resumed pushing the door. This time I allowed myself to enter.

Immediately I altered my features so I would appear to be a well mannered young man looking for a quiet bar in which to drink. Now that I had gained enough information from the ten minutes I had to survey the minds of both the bartender and his customer, I could now act my part. I gave a polite smile to the bartender as I entered the bar and closed the wooden door quietly behind me.

_Woah, another customer, _the bartender thought in surprise, but was nevertheless pleased to see me. The man, who was sitting at the end of the bar furthest from the door, did not look at up at me, too observed in his internal Hell. But the bartender approached me immediately, a gentle smile on his face. He attempted to ignore the unease he felt in his stomach when he was close enough to see my unnaturally honey coloured eyes and too perfect face and skin. However, he would not allow neither his suspicion nor his fear prevent him from welcoming me in his usual polite and friendly manner. Perhaps some would perceive this as foolish, but I knew he was astute and vigilant beneath his friendly façade. Thankfully, he did not attempt to guess what I was, and as long as I did not mention my strange appearance to him, I was certain he would keep his belief that I was 'from another world' to himself.

"Good evening," he welcomed me gesturing towards the various seats scattered throughout his bar.

"Good evening," I returned politely as I sat on the stool almost directly in front of him, about six stools down from his other customer. I looked into the bartender's eyes which were warm brown in colour. He appeared to be in his mid to late fifties given the few wrinkles on his face which otherwise appeared kind and jovial. I was not sure how he could maintain such apparent enthusiasm for life when this place seemed so drab and quiet. But perhaps he enjoyed living in a small, quiet town.

"What can I get you?" he asked me. _Seems to be a sherry kind of guy, _he guessed, and I could tell he always made to guess the type of drink his customers go for before they make their order.

I had no intention of drinking whatever I ordered, so decided to humour him.

"A sherry please," I requested.

Smiling at his 'correct' guess, the bartender turned around to pour my drink.

"I must admit I am relieved you are still open," I begun, talking to his back. "I did not think there were any pubs around here, let alone one that would still be open at 9pm on a Tuesday night."

The bartender chuckled, his shoulder length, wispy gray hair moving with his laughter.

"Well you are in luck," he informed me, placing the glass of deep red wine in front of me. I successfully hid my smile when I noticed how much this drink looked like my usual diet. The bartender then leaned towards me and whispered: "The boy down there entered my bar just as I was about to close it."

I turned to my right to follow his gaze and briefly glanced at the deceptively calm 'boy' who was still staring at his glass.

"I see. Well I plan on thanking him for his apt timing," I informed the barkeeper quietly in response.

"Well I owe thanks to you both, especially him," he continued to whisper, pointing his thumb in the boy's direction. "He is on his eighth bourbon and somehow does not appear any worse for wear."

I looked at the boy again. _Eight_ liquors? I tried to estimate his height, which was slightly difficult given he was sitting down. Probably about 5' 9" and a slight build. He _should _be drunk by now. I considered whether wizards were more resistant to the effects of alcohol, and concluded it was possible. However, given the boy originally intended to drink himself to death, I felt this unlikely.

"That is quite extraordinary," I muttered, widening my eyes to show him how impressed I was.

"Indeed," he agreed wholeheartedly with me, and I was pleased that he seemed to like me in spite of the continued squirming in his stomach. This man had good instincts for a human.

"So what brings you to Spinner's End this time of night?" he questioned me, clearly keen for conversation after the endless silence his other customer would have given him.

_To prevent your other customer from poisoning themselves to death, _I thought, smiling grimly to myself.

"No particular reason," I informed him, and then forced a sigh out of my mouth, "I haven't had a good day and needed a place to go."

"Well you have come to the right place," he smiled at me, hoping good naturedly that I intended on getting drunk like my fellow customer. I smirked to myself wondering what he would think and do if he knew I had no intention to drink, and that the only substances that could intoxicate me were warm and freely available from his body.

"Thank you, uh…" I prompted the man, hoping to get his name. This would hopefully give Alice a way of monitoring the future of this town after we leave England.

"Rod," the man introduced himself, holding out his hand, "Rod Taylor."

"Edward," I replied as we shook hands.

"Do you feel cold?" he asked me, having felt the icy sting of my skin against his own, "I have a heater here-"

"Oh no, I am perfectly fine; I always have cold hands," I convinced him easily.

"Ah, well let me know if you need it," Rod offered kindly.

To my surprise, the grieving man had managed to ignore our entire conversation. This would not have been difficult given he was trapped somewhere in the depths of his personal Hell. However, when he realised he had consumed his drink, he was forced to pay attention to Rod and me. This was the first time since being in his presence that something other than Lily was the focus of his thoughts.

I decided to take this opportunity to speak with him whilst I had the chance. When he rested his dark eyes on my golden ones, I heard and felt how much he resented me for interrupting his sanctuary and occupying the bartender who was maintaining his peace. He hoped I would not be there much longer.

"Excuse me," Rod muttered, before making his way to the other end of the bar. He hoped I did not think him rude for leaving our conversation, which of course, I was far from thinking.

I watched the boy's gaze as it shifted from me to Rod so he could order his ninth bourbon.

With his gaze averted, I finally had the opportunity to subtly observe the man using my heightened eyesight. I now understood why Rod referred to his other customer as a 'boy'; he was one, perhaps twenty or twenty one years of age. I had to take a couple of seconds to consider how this altered my perception of this boy.

How could one so young love this deeply? How is it that after living a mere twenty years on this earth, he was ready to die?

_This boy is too young to take his life,_ I concluded, wishing that fact was enough to convince him. However, the information I had gathered when I was standing outside the pub suggested that this boy either loved Lily Potter _that _much, hated himself _that _much, or had experienced too much too young to know of the intrinsic meaning of life. Unfortunately, my instinct told me it was a combination of all three. What had happened to this young man that rendered him so hopeless now? Lily must have been everything to him.

With a full glass sitting comfortably in his hands, the boy resumed drinking, his dark curtain of hair falling over his face as he bent over to take a sip. Rod was standing in between the two of us from his side of the bar, and I knew he was watching me observe the boy. Rod decided to join me; still marvelling at the boy's drinking capacity as he calculated at what point the boy should have become visibly intoxicated.

I recalled the first memory I had of this boy's face when he glared at me for invading on his sanctuary. I recalled his eyes being black, but they were also detached from the resentment I felt in his thoughts and his body. This was his way of protecting the vulnerable interior that lay beneath the stilled calm of his body. Anyone would feel safer if everyone around them believed they were angry or indifferent, and this was his defence- his protection from the world. Somehow, I needed to find a way to penetrate his façade; I would not be able to alter the future if all I had to work with was his mask of anger.

The boy looked towards me then. Although he was slightly unnerved that I was watching him, his thoughts were preoccupied with my appearance. This boy, who had almost nine bourbons in him, noticed my unnaturally bright honey coloured eyes and my smooth skin. He concluded I was foreign; no one like me lived in England apparently.

Taking another sip of his drink, the boy pulled his gaze away from mine, feeling slightly uncomfortable. However, when he did not hear a conversation begin between myself and Rod, he could not help but glance at me again.

_He appears to be from another world, _the boy pondered to himself. _And powerful, _he concluded as he eyed my physique and my posture, his mouth open slightly.

Originally his insights amused me, and I smiled without thinking, forgetting momentarily that he was not aware of my gift. He had noticed my grin, but when I returned my features back to a neutral position, he assumed I was simply amused by his facial expression which was reminiscent of a gold fish. Clearly this boy was observant and intelligent; I could not take it for granted that he was intoxicated. In fact, I was willing to bet he would remember everything tomorrow morning… assuming he lived.

His interruption of my conversation with Rod was something I still needed to address. This was especially vital given his curiosity surrounding my appearance was quickly fading in favour of the frustration and resentment he felt moments before. Then he began to question whether I was there to stare or to drink.

I knew I needed to engage him_, and_ take a sip of drink… to keep up appearances.

"I was talking to the bartender a moment ago-" I finally spoke into the silent bar.

_Shocking, _the man thought immediately, his brain still alert despite the many glasses of bourbon he had consumed. Although my apparent stupidity frustrated him, at least he was paying attention to me.

"He told me," I continued, ignoring his thoughts "that you entered this pub just before he was about to close it. I thank you; I was hoping this place would still be open," I lied smoothly, my tone one of gentle gratitude. Considering the boy was not looking at me, I took a first sip of my drink and then returned the glass loudly to the bench so the boy heard that I was there to 'drink'.

In response to my statement, the man gave his glass a single nod, refusing to answer me; he hoped our conversation was over.

He was _very_ wrong.

Nevertheless, I knew it would not be wise to push my luck this early in our acquaintance, so I stayed silent for a while to humour him, giving him time to analyse me and form a conclusion regarding my accent, origin, and level of education. I successfully suppressed my smirk when he concluded with certainty that my polite manner and mature tone indicated I was older than I looked.

_Indeed_, I chuckled to myself.

Despite this conclusion, he still believed I was a boy, and I found it amusing that we both silently refer to the other as 'the boy'.

In the mean time, my family were directing their attention to every single murmur made by the two beating hearts belonging to the humans near me. This was the only way they could monitor my safety without entering the pub themselves. To mask the extent of their concentration, my family engaged in a flawless trivial conversation so onlookers would assume they were a group of friends conversing. Beneath the discussion regarding an end of year holiday to France was their distress that I had entered a human dwelling without informing them why.

Alice and Jasper were still absent. I assumed they were in the car recovering from what they had seen and felt. I hoped within the next five minutes I would be able to see and hear Alice and Jasper's minds again. I would feel safer. In the mean time, I allowed my other family member's thoughts reassure me that so far, things were going as well as could be expected.

To encourage Jasper's presence, I attempted to divert the man's focus completely on to me.

"I haven't had the best day," I confided in boy, as I stared sadly at my glass. He sighed in frustration, his hope that our conversation had ended was fading away. However, he felt it was imperative that he answer me before I could tell him my whole 'life story'.

I tried to maintain indifferent when he wondered what he did to deserve such a torturous companion. I tensed momentarily, feeling guilty that I was taking his peace away from him. I forced myself to relax and wait for him to respond to me.

"Neither have I," he eventually slurred his reply. Only realising then how drunk he was, the boy resolved to be silent in case he revealed something of his world to myself and Rod.

Conversely, I wished he was sufficientlyintoxicated not to inhibit his thoughts and feelings; any additional defence he put in place would only made my job more difficult.

"That is why we are here, I suppose," I responded under my breath trying to form a connection- a similarity between the two of us, "in an attempt to forget it all."

_To make the pain go away until I can truly forget via the process of death, _the boy thought to himself, and I could relate to his wish on some level. I tried to imagine what it would feel like to be responsible for Carlisle's death. Given the preserved memories vampires are known for, I would never be able to forget what I had done. At least this boy had death as an option; such an end was barely possible for any of our kind. So my last hope would be to get drunk- perhaps on human blood, so the animalistic side of my being would dominate my humanity. I would live off my instincts for the rest of my existence…

I shook my head, forcing myself to return to the present where Carlisle was still alive and concerned for me as he, and most of my family, anxiously waited outside.

"Unfortunately, alcohol his only a temporary solution," I mumbled casually under my breath, and then took another swig from my glass. "Some things you will never forget no matter how much you consume," I continued wistfully, which was difficult given that Emmett was struggling to stifle a laugh outside. Of course, _I _could never forget anything, but that was beside the point.

_True, _the man thought to himself. This was why he wanted to die; it was his only means of escape.

"But," I sighed, trying to release some of the tension in my body, "I suppose we are not meant to forget. Those memories are what motivate me to make amends for my mistakes. It is almost impossible to feel like it's enough. But it is all I can do for now, and I suppose I must be satisfied with that…" I shook my head with sadness, as my mind reminded me of my own history and what I had done in the past. Although I was merely trying to converse with the man to get _him _talking, I had unknowingly vocalised my own feelings. I tried to cover up this revelation by drinking yet again, and was satisfied when I discovered that my statement had elicited the man's attention.

_What is he trying to redeem himself for? _The man wondered, and indeed, Rod was thinking the same thing. Not daring to speak out loud, the boy concluded that my attractive features gave me the resources I needed to reverse my error.

The curiosity exhibited by the two humans in my presence was unmistakeable. However, the confusion that clouded the minds of my family had caused them all to stiffen. All of them had correctly assumed that I had just informed two strangers of the guilt I experienced after leaving Carlisle and Esme in pursuit of defying my father's way of life. Their surprise and confusion was understandable; I had never told them exactly what I did in my weeks of absence, and they knew better than to ask me about it now; it was over seventy years ago. Within seconds, they became intrigued by my approach to the conversation I was having.

_What is he doing? _Rosalie wondered, half angry and half frustrated that she did not know the answer.

_Oh, Edward, _Esme sighed sympathetically, and I saw through Rose's eyes that my mother had grasped my father's hand, their sadness reflected in both of their eyes.

Having sensed and observed our family's discomfort from the car, Jasper and Alice decided they were ready to expose themselves to whatever was happening in the pub. At human speed, Alice and Jasper approached our family- the staged conversation they had originally carried was now forgotten. Pleased to see Alice and Jasper again, my family quietly vocalised their joy, each of them wishing one of them would explain what I was doing. Before they could be asked, Alice foresaw their question, and led Jaz to a nearby row of hedges behind which they hid. I knew this was a tactful move on Alice's behalf, and I was grateful for her intervention; I did not need the rest of my family to be worried for my life.

Thankful that my gifted siblings were within the range of my gift once again, I utilised Alice's to determine whether I should ask him what he was trying to forget (through the process of death). Seeing that no harm would come of the question (which was as much as I could hope for), I resumed my conversation with the boy.

"What are you trying to forget?" I asked him quietly, softening my gaze slightly so as to not intimidate him.

"Everything," he informed me immediately, despite his multiple attempts to avoid speaking. Surprised by his genuine response and honesty, I found myself tilting my head slightly with curiosity. However, this caused the boy to turn away from me; he could no longer endure the intensity of my expression.

I nodded in understanding.

"And how is that working out for you?" I asked him sympathetically knowing already that alcohol had done little to rid him of his memories or his grief. Nevertheless, I hoped that if I showed I cared, this may encourage him to talk.

"I still remember my name so not too well," he snapped at me in frustration.

"Your life cannot be that terrible," I challenged him gently, hoping my query would elicit some of his past so I had a better understanding of exactly what he has suffered. Automatically I leaned towards him hoping it would encourage him to open up to me, so we could openly talk about his feelings and his intentions.

Within seconds, I saw the man grip his glass tightly in response to my statement. He then moved away from me slightly, and I knew I had angered him with my presumption. He was doing well to control it given how many drinks he had had. The bartender was becoming wary too as he cautiously stared between myself and my reluctant companion.

"Careful, Edward," Jasper whispered from outside; he must have felt the man's anger as clearly as I could see it. His jaw was clenched, but it was also moving as if forcing himself not to tell me every ounce of evidence he felt would be necessary to convince me that his life really _was_ thatterrible.

For what must have been no more than five seconds, I saw glimpses of someone floating upside down in mid air, the Dark Lord, and Lily's lifeless green eyes, before they disappeared. This boy had incredible control over his emotions, and soon he had calmed himself down knowing he could not tell me about any of the memories he briefly recalled. Little did he know I already knew about two of the three.

Taking a deep breath, he informed me calmly:

"You know nothing of my life."

I bowed my head towards my glass acknowledging his assertion even though I actually knew more of his life than he could ever imagine. Nevertheless, I went along with him:  
"Well I know you are attempting to drown yourself in alcohol. Given that I wish to do the same, there must be something we have in common- something about your life that I can understand," I offered him, feeling hopeful that he will give me something- anything for me to use to remind him his life was worth living.

In response to my statement, I heard Esme whisper: "Good try, Edward." My family all hoped it would have been fruitful as the hour was getting closer to ending and I felt I had achieved nothing except make him angry at me.

"What it means to be drunk," he told me, feeling that the sensation of intoxication was the only connection we shared.

Well he was most certainly wrong about that.

Nevertheless, I chuckled at his answer, not daring to mention exactly what I drink that gives me any sense of intoxication.

"Hmmm yes," I agreed with him, "though I imagine our reasons for desiring such an existence are not wholly different," I wondered out loud, hoping my statement would help him consider how else we may be similar.

"Are you incapable of drinking in silence?" he hissed at me. I stared at him for a moment as I gathered the thoughts of my family outside and Rod behind the bar.

I could tell that I was pushing the man to the brink of his patience- that he truly, as I have always known, wanted to drink in peace. My family's minds were as alert as ever, listening intently to everything within. Alice could not see anything significant occurring as a result of the man's latest outburst, only that eventually the humans living in Spinner's End would be safe from torture and slavery. Relieved that _that_ future was still within her sights, I focused back on the minds within the bar. Rod was concerned that I had unknowingly engaged the quiet man in a discussion that may lead to a bar fight. Somehow Rod knew that if a fight were to occur, he would be unable to stop it. He was right about that.

Unlike the others around me, the boy had interpreted my pause to mean that I was considering leaving him alone.

_Please do, _he had begged in his mind. I truly did not like disappointing him.

"No, but usually when I have a few drinks in a bar, I enjoy a chat here and there," I casually told him.

"Well stop looking for it here; there are plenty of other bars in larger towns with _other _people who I am sure would enjoy your conversation," he said quickly, intentionally praising me in the hope I would leave Spinner's End as my way of thanking him.

"But you do not?" I confirmed with him unnecessarily.

_Hell no, _he answered me in his head, of course completely oblivious to my being able to hear him.

"No," he answered stiffly.

"Well I am sorry to hear it. Unfortunately, I have no means of transportation otherwise I would leave you to your solitude," I said as a genuine apology of sorts. Emmett snorted quietly.

_We'll just ignore the two perfectly working cars at the end of the street._

_Indeed we will, Emmett, _I thought to myself.

To my surprise, the man thought better of me now that he believed I was not intentionally trying to annoy him. He assumed, incorrectly, that had I possessed a car, I would have left him in peace. But then he remembered I was not leaving and I did not seem inclined to stop talking. His respect for me had quickly dissipated and was replaced with frustration.

"Is this your way of telling me you're not going to shut up?" he slurred at me. He looked at his watch and registered he had one more hour before the poison would be ready to consume, which meant another hour of my company. I tried to remain unaffected when he surmised God was cruel for placing him in my presence.

I tilted my head slightly to my right as I studied his face, pretending to be interested in his expression when in fact I was focusing on his thoughts. He was contemplating leaving the pub. Immediately, Alice's vision reverted back to the horrific future we originally saw.

_I cannot let him leave._

But I decided not to move; I still hoped he would eventually come to that conclusion without my assistance.

I continued to focus on the flow of the boy's thoughts as he considered how far he would need to walk home. He then calculated how much bourbon he had consumed and knew he would not be able to escape the pub, without his condition eliciting my help, which he did not want or need. He concluded neither myself nor Rod would let him walk home alone in his current state. The uneasy feeling that I would not allow him to leave the pub _at all _was a concern the boy attempted to suppress. Upon hearing his reasoning, I felt both concern and admiration towards him. If his fear of my intervention forced him to stay in the bar, I could not argue with that.

Concluding that he must wait me out, the boy turned away from me, wishing I would stop staring at him. He half-heartedly hoped his question regarding my ability to remain silent had rendered me speechless.

Of course, I was not speechless in the sense that he meant. Rather, I was preoccupied with my own thoughts, and my growing frustration with this boy. I should have expected him to be resistant- the alcohol in his system did nothing to lower his inhibition, which was incredibly high. I was running out of ways of 'safely' probing him. Perhaps I needed to accept that in order for the preferred future to be achieved, I needed to be drastic and confronting just to get a reaction from him.

"Why don't you want to talk?" I asked him slowly, in a gentle tone which masked my underlying frustration. The boy intended to ignore me, but the sincerity in my voice made him turn towards me, not with interest but in fury.

"Why do you _want _to?" he demanded loudly, hoping that if he was rude enough I would stop caring about him. Immediately he tried to reel in his emotions, but his outburst, the loudest of the night so far, had rendered my family tense, and even Rod was considering ending our discussion early and kicking us both out. But a part of him was also curious to know more about both of us, and he wanted to see how it would end.

Covering my own anxiety about the consequences of what I was about to say next, I shrugged and answered him calmly:

"It sometimes helps to talk about things; then it's easier to deal with. Don't you agree?"

The man snorted.

"Never tried, and never intend to," he told me without hesitation, and I was shocked when I learnt through his thoughts that he has not vocalised his feelings for years. "And I'll be damned if I sit here listening to you talk about your life. Speak to the bartender instead, that's why he's here; to listen to pathetic people like you," he asserted harshly, pointing to Rod who felt terrified being brought into our discussion.

Every member of my family hissed in anger, perceiving the man I was trying to save as rude and inconsiderate. Rosalie even wondered whether the man was worth saving with such an attitude. But unlike them, I knew the man was grieving and awaiting his death; arguing with me was not how he planned to spend his final minutes on Earth.

When I was certain my family were not about to enter the pub in my defence, I realised Rod had processed what the man had said and wanted to argue against him in my defence. I held up my hand to indicate I did not want him to interfere. Thankfully, he saw my signal and remained silent; I did not want him involved in this. The boy did not miss this action, and immediately felt threatened by my silent demeanour and slow movements which he interpreted as my preparation to strike him. I saw the boy's hand move subtly towards an inner chest pocket, but then reversed the motion knowing he could not attack me in front of a 'Muggle'. The boy thought I believed he had a gun, which he correctly believed was safer than the weapon he truly possessed. If only he knew how right he was.

Suddenly Rod became my greatest protection; as long as he was there, we would never know how much damage his wand could do to me. As he was moving his hand from out of his robe, the boy realised he could not guarantee being able to perform a _memory charm_ on me given he was intoxicated…

_What? _Did this mean he could erase our memory so we would be forced to forget he performed magic? Could he _do_ that?

Instantly, I felt anxious; my memory or that of any vampire was one of our assets we took for granted. I could not risk losing my memory under any circumstance. Even if the charm did not work on vampires, I was not willing to find out.  
Jasper instantly felt my anxiety and informed our family of it subtly. When Alice looked in my future, she saw momentarily a wand- the boy's wand being pointed at me and she let out an audible, loud gasp. The boy and Rod heard her, and looked towards the window where Alice and Jasper were hiding in the hedges below the sill. Although Alice's reaction was a faint sound to them, it was loud to me. I automatically turned towards the door, knowing my other family members would be in that direction. I did not want to draw attention to where the humans were looking in case they approached the window to investigate the sound. Although I was staring at the door, I was focused on my sister's visions to determine whether I should leave now before a one-sided duel arose.

However, the boy's resolve dissipated quickly, and when Alice's vision once again showed me leaving the pub safely, I turned back around to face the boy. He registered my wariness of him, and I did not mind that my fear was seeping through; it was probably a better option to him thinking I was not scared of him at all. Nevertheless, I still needed to continue our conversation, as risky as that may be.

"Do you think I am pathetic?" I asked him in a non-threatening way as if I were merely curious of his interpretation of me.

"Yes, just drink your damn drink and be done with it!" he yelled at me, but not with the same level of aggression he exhibited before. Nevertheless, he was not at all concerned about hurting my feelings.

"Be done with what?" I asked him, knowing full well what he meant.

"Your talking! No one cares about your life!" he hissed at me, frustrated that I was not backing down.

"No one? Or just you?" I asked him quietly, though I felt my eyes narrow at him, my frustration with _him _was now beginning to seep through.

The man looked at me and studied my face, the perfect tone of my skin, my bright eyes, my attractive features, and concluded that most people would care about me simply for the way I looked.

_I do not have time for this, _he muttered to himself. Consequently, he decided not to answer me.

But I was losing my patience with him now. Nothing seemed to be working and I feared I would be unsuccessful.

My next statement came from my most recent plan to be confrontational, but also my suppressed annoyance with the boy I so desperately wanted to help.

"I wonder…" I pondered honestly, "whether anyone cares about your life?" And it was a genuine wonder; was there _no one_ who would miss him?

Offended, the man instinctively went to reach for his wand but stopped before any human would have seen. But of course, I noticed his shaky resolve before he grasped onto the glass in front of him instead, forcing himself to keep his wand safely hidden away. But his anger at me was not because I had offended him with my question, but because he knew the answer and did not care.

"No, no one does," he told me quietly, not feeling the sadness one may have expected to see. Contrary to my plan, this fact made dying easier for him knowing no one would miss him if he went.  
But I could not accept that this boy, however he may appear to me now, was so unlikeable.

"Perhaps they would if they knew you," I suggested hopefully.

"Has our little discussion in this bar convinced you that I am someone worth knowing?" he drawled sarcastically, frustrated that I was still so willing to give him the benefit of the doubt despite his attempts to be rude.

I shrugged in response. "I do not make a habit of judging people before I get to know them," I informed him, which of course is the truth; my gift allows me to do this subtly.

"Well you can be certain I am not worth your attention _or _worth knowing," _given this is my last day on Earth, _"so do not waste your time speaking with me," he told me forcefully, hoping that this would convince me to leave him in peace.

While Rosalie contemplated whether we were wasting our time, I felt angry with him; did he think I would still be here after twenty minutes of unproductive discussion and useless silences if I believed this was a waste of my time?

"I do not perceive this to be a waste of time," I told him seriously as I struggled to conceive how deeply this boy was consumed by his low self-worth and his grief.

_He sounds offended, _the boy registered, just before looking up at me for the first time in minutes. Upon looking into my eyes, his black ones boring into mine, he reluctantly concluded that perhaps I did see value in talking with him. Nevertheless, he knew he would be dead within a couple of hours, and he desperately wanted me to know I was wasting my time without having to state why.

"Well you are wasting your time!" he spat at me in spite of the other half of him who believed I had good intentions. But in that moment, he did not care if he was offending a good person; he wanted to be left alone. I tried to ignore the pang in my chest when I realised all I have achieved is to make him more miserable and more eager for death.

"Pour me another," he asked Rod who immediately began to refill his glass.

"Easier to drink than face life, isn't it?" I observed nodding towards his now full class.

_Please give me something, _I silently begged.

"What would you know of it?" he replied hastily, the recent ingestion of alcohol momentarily controlling his response.

_I might as well have asked him to tell me his life story, _he realised regretfully.

Unfortunately for him, his error had opened up a new possibility for me. What _did _I know of drinking- of escaping from emotional agony? Perhaps I needed to share my own experiences with him.

"I told you before that I have made mistakes in my life-" I tried to remind him, but he cut me off in an angry rage.

"Were you a truant? Did you knock up a girl?" he sneered at me, perceiving these errors to be pathetic and inconsequential in comparison to his own. And I completely agreed with him.

I gave him a grim smile to show him that I also did not consider those coming close to what I had done. But how much of my past should I tell him? Enough for it to be believable, but not so much that it was dangerous. I took a couple of seconds to consider what I would tell him: he needed to be able to relate to me, to see that I could understand his pain if he were ever brave enough to speak of it. But at the same time, I needed to be convincing in my words, my behaviour and my expressions. Ultimately, I needed it to be real and believable, so the truth, at least in part, would need to be shared with him. I needed to stop acting and be me.

Alice's vision did not change when I made this decision; it was blurry and unfocused now that the boy was no longer determined to duel me. It was disheartening not to see any changes, but I had to keep trying.

"No, manslaughter actually," I informed him casually, knowing this would get his attention (and unfortunately, Rod's too).

The reaction of everyone in the vicinity was instantaneous, and for a few seconds my mind was overwhelmed with the responses from my family, Rod and the boy next to me.

Carlisle's mind was calm and trusting, however he had incorrectly assumed that I had lost my patience and snapped. I saw Esme clapped her hands to her mouth in shock at what I had said.

Emmett was grinning like a maniac, loving the drama that I had added to the conversation. That was so typical of him.

Rosalie was torn between slapping her husband for accepting what I had said in any way, and vocalising through her thoughts her fierce anger and intense fear that we would be discovered.

Jasper's body became instantly rigid when the words left my mouth. He was unable to speak or move as he focused intently on the boy's fear. And indeed, both of the humans in front of me were terrified for their own safety. Even though I had admitted to manslaughter, not murder (which was actually closer to the truth), they interpreted this to be as good as intentional when they were cooped up in a small dwelling with me- a being they both perceived to be otherworldly and thus potentially threatening.

Alice did not say anything; completely focused on her visions. I heard her breathe a sigh of relief when she finally saw that nothing significant would arise from my statement. Unlike the others, Alice was able to conclude that this was the beginning of my original plan to briefly tell the boy what she Saw, which I supposed it was.

Despite the evident expression of fear on the boy's face, his eyes wide and face tense, I pretended to be ignorant of the rigmarole of emotions squirming his stomach.

"You seem surprised," I concluded indifferently. "Why?" I asked him unnecessarily, not caring that the boy thought I was thick for asking such a question.

"You do not appear to be old enough to commit such a crime," he answered me, and I found this humorous as did Emmett.

_If only he knew._

Remembering to be the slightly dangerous part of me rather than the boy who simply wanted to chat, I allowed myself to make eye contact with him as I smiled. I wanted him to feel slightly intimidated.

However, when his heart hitched upon seeing my slightly darker eyes make contact with his, I looked towards the ground in case I terrified him. I did not want him to enter 'flight' mode. But I could not help but release my laughter, making sure I kept my eyes on the ground.

"What's he laughing about?" Rosalie hissed quietly from outside.

"It's funny!" Emmett informed her as if it were obvious.

"It won't be if they call the police because they believe he's a psychopath!" she whispered aggressively at her husband.

"Shhh," Jasper hushed them harshly from the window sill. "Edward _is _walking a fine line, but he knows this. He is doing well- stop distracting him!"

Rosalie huffed in annoyance, but shut her mouth.

_Well done, Edward, _Esme encouraged me quietly in her mind, afraid she may distract me like Jaz had suggested. Her thoughts made me laugh even more.

But Rosalie was right to be slightly concerned about my laughter. Originally, I thought I would release a single laugh, but it continued for at least five seconds as my frustration, my hope, and my failures with this boy released themselves from my chest and out of my mouth. The hairs on the boy's neck stood up in response, and I knew he would be paying closer attention to me now. If I had to make him scared of me so he would listen, then that is what I needed to do.

The boy once again considered withdrawing his wand in self-defence; wondering whether I was about to kill him. Although he still intended on taking his own life, he wanted his death to be painless, which he felt it wouldn't be with me. This was not how I wanted the man to feel; only scared, not at risk of dying at my hand. I reworked my face to one of serious concern and then lifted my head to look at him again to continue our conversation before he could misconstrue my intentions further.

"I am older than I look. And despite my appearance, I _have _killed innocent people," I informed him firmly. Of course, this was a partial lie; the men I killed were all rapists or criminals, and far from innocent, "and life was unbearable for a time… until I realised I could make a difference- make amends for the lives I took," I explained to him slowly, hoping he was able to identify the similarities between my situation and his.

_Oh, clever, _Rosalie reluctantly thought to herself, now understanding what I was trying to do.

My family knew how guilty I felt for turning on Carlisle's ways and devouring those humans' lives. They all saw the merit in paralleling my experience from roughly seventy years ago to the boy's. However, only Esme and Carlisle saw how I was when I returned to them with human blood on my hands (figuratively speaking) and consumed with guilt. Like this boy, I felt there was nothing I could do to 'right my wrong', until Carlisle managed to convince me that his way of living ensured fewer humans would die to sustain our species. Since that time, I have willingly dedicated my life to the 'vegetarian' style of living in an attempt to balance the prevalence of human lives in the world once again.

"It is impossible to replace someone's life," the man spat at me as he considered what I was implying. Of course, in the literal sense, he was right, but their deaths and the lessons learnt from them should not be wasted. "No matter how sorry you may be, some deaths are unforgivable," he educated me with feeling, hoping I would drop the possibility. But of course, I was not giving up.

"Did you kill someone too?" I asked him, my head tilted to the side in curiosity.

Rod had stiffened at my question, not sure what he would do if _both_ of us were killers. Rod swayed on his feet and felt slightly light-headed when the boy nodded his head.

"Three people," he told me, as he struggled to repress the sob in his throat. In his mind, I saw he was referring to the Potter family.

_There were others too, _he acknowledged to himself, _but they deserved it. _

I tried to remain indifferent to this revelation which took me by surprise. How did I not see this in his mind? Clearly, he did not feel guilty for killing anyone except Lily.

_Who is this boy? _I asked myself, feeling uneasy.

Jasper was confused by my sudden discomfort, but nevertheless tried to calm me through his thoughts and his gift.

_You are doing well. We have your back, _he reminded me.

Swallowing, I hoped he was right on both accounts as I continued our discussion with vigilance; what else would I find out about this boy tonight?

I covered my shock and merely nodded at him as if the fact he killed three people (and others) did not bother me.

"I have killed eight people," I confided in him.

"Tonight?" the man blurted out before he could stop himself as fear and adrenaline pumped through his veins. He thought I only killed one person, not eight.

I smiled at him, knowing that those eight _did_ in fact die within a period of a week.

"No, but everyday I try to make amends for the loss of their lives," I tell him, and then smiled gently in a way I hoped he would interpret as hopeful rather than a threatening sneer.

The man doubted my sincerity though, believing redemption for such a terrible deed was impossible, but then he recalled my otherworldly air and wondered whether somehow I had found a way of truly amending my errors.

"Is there a point to his conversation?" he eventually asked of me, though he was genuinely curious now as to why I had willingly admitted to him the serious crimes I had committed in the past. "Did you come in here to scare me?" he ventured without meaning to; the fight aspect of his instinct was kicking in.

"I can see you are not, though perhaps you ought to be," I replied with my crooked, genuine smile.

At this, the atmosphere in the bar changed; blood was rushing to their limbs in preparation to run, and their heart beats were pounding in my ears. They no longer felt safe, especially Rod who was surrounded by two people with the capacity to kill.

Rosalie hissed in agitation, fearing my suggestion that they should be afraid would give the intelligent boy one too many hints. Carlisle was similarly cautious. Unfortunately, only Jasper knew what I said was a joke, hence my _smile_. Feeling I had stepped too far over the line, I begun to soften my face and my body so I did not appear as threatening to the boy.

However, this did not appear to help. The boy remembered the first moment we made eye contact when I was sitting rigid and tense in my chair, like a predator.  
And he was my prey.

Despite the incredible fear such an idea would elicit in any normal human, the boy kept a completely neutral face, though his racing heart and slightly shaking hands gave him away. Nevertheless, I was impressed; if I could not hear his racing heart beat or the panicked nature of his thoughts, I would have believed he was fearless of the way I stared at him.

This boy was brave, perhaps foolishly so. However, when he had mastered his indifferent façade, he said smoothly.

"From what you have said, it sounds like you repent the crimes you committed, so at present, I have no reason to fear you." As he spoke, his thoughts constantly reminded him that he was lying; he was terrified.

"Then you have made a wise judgment," I praised him wholeheartedly in an attempt to mask my sincere surprise at his control. "You have no reason to fear me," I agreed with him in an assertive manner.

To my relief, his heart beat slowed slightly, and he was able to calm his hands.

The man looked into my eyes briefly. The moment he caught my honey coloured irises again; he was reminded that _something _was not normal about my appearance. To stop him from continuing to analyse me, I reverted back to my talkative self. Watching his dark eyes carefully, I suggested sympathetically:

"Perhaps you should try to forgive yourself for whatever crime you feel you have done."

The man smirked at me, the first hint of a smile since I had been in his presence. Even though his expression reflected his pity and dark humour, it gave me hope that this man was not completely lost in the deep hole in his heart.

"Self-forgiveness is impossible for me; I killed someone I love," he informed me to emphasise how little I knew of his situation.

Naturally, his statement did not surprise me, however the wave of emotion that rose with his admission forced me to pause for a moment. I sat in silence, watching him, wondering if I would see any emotion flit across his features that reflected the longing I knew he was feeling in his chest.

When his face remained resolutely blank, I tried to suggest to him a more positive way to look at his situation; if I had loved or even known the people I killed, I would have been able to more fully rectify my wrong. So I said:

"If _I_ had, it may have been easier to work out how to make things right-"

"Her family are dead," he countered me immediately, and to my surprise, he knew what I was trying to suggest. _I killed them too, _he said to himself, almost as if he wanted me to know this fact without having to say the words.

I felt like I was not going to break through his emotional barrier this way, so I tried another tactic.

"If you loved her," I asked him gently, as I bent over slightly to look into his eyes, "why did you kill her?"

"It was an accident, thus the manslaughter," he fired at me, as if it were obvious, which I suppose it was. He then rested his head in his hands, and I could feel his grief mounting; talking about Lily was not helping him to be at peace nor prepare him for the suicide he had planned. But I needed to keep pushing him; only with his emotions in the open will I be able to elicit any change in him- any alteration to his plan that would prevent the terrible slavery Alice had seen. So I continued attacking his conscience.

"And you blame yourself for her death?"

"There is no one else to blame!" he shouted at me, his heart weighed down in hopelessness, his mind almost desperate; someone tangible needed to be blamed- punished for the death of someone so good. At the moment, that person was him.

"That doesn't mean it was your fault," I reminded him gently, the natural music tone in my voice coming out as I subconsciously attempted to ease his pain.

The boy turned away from me, embarrassed because he felt I was singing a lullaby to calm him. I hid my smile- he may be tipsy, but he was still an intelligent boy even when under the influence.

His gaze still averted from mine, he stared at his glass, wondering whether I was watching him, wondering what I was doing in the pub, and unsure what to say after feeling like a child who was being sung to.

But within seconds, his thoughts returned to the words I had said.

_Of course it was my fault; he did not understand the intricacies of the role I played, _he reassured himself. Of course, he could not have known how much I did know.

The silence that followed provided me with some time to focus on my family's thoughts, so I turned towards the door. Seeing me, Rod wondered what I was looking at. _Is he expecting someone?_ He questioned himself, but thankfully he respected my privacy and did not ask.

_Edward, _my sister spoke to me through her thoughts, _we are running out of time._

_Tell me something I don't know, _I thought at her even though I knew she could not hear me. I heard Jasper chuckle though; at least he could pick up on my emotions- my displeasure.

"I think he is well aware of what you just told him," he informed Alice kindly, kissing her forehead.

She humphed. "Edward, remember my gift, use it your advantage. See if you can think of something that changes the future," she encouraged me. I had been so focused on the grief of this boy, and preventing him from extracting his wand, that I needed to resume focus. Hopefully this break in our conversation would calm the boy a bit, and with little time available now, I needed to ensure that almost everything I said would result in an alteration in the future. Unfortunately it could take some time to find something productive to say, but I was determined to get through to this boy; there was a world of hurt underneath his façade, if only I could reach it. Somehow I knew that if he expressed his emotions, he may be more open to being redeemed rather than taking his life.

The boy was now looking at me, wondering what had kept me distracted for so long that I managed to 'shut up'. But he was not complaining and continued to go back to drinking, asking Rod for another bourbon. This gave me a couple of minutes to sift through various statements and questions in my head. Finally, I found one that made the future somewhat clearer; it had possibilities.

_Give that one a try, Edward, _Alice encouraged me.

"What are you going to do about it?" I asked him, which I knew was a vague question, but that was the point; I wanted to see what he would say and how he interpreted it. And indeed, it provided me with valuable answers: he felt I wanted to know what he was going to do about his guilt and his pain.

_Kill myself so I can be free, _and I could feel how much he desired that freedom. Despite these powerful emotions, the boy had the hide to shrug at me. However, he did not know how to answer me in a manner that would preserve his sanity in my eyes. But I knew I needed to pursue this- somehow I knew that he needed to admit his plans before I could hope to convince him there is an alternative future for him.

"Surely there is something you can do to make things right again?" I asked gently, my gaze focused on him once more.

He stared at me then, his dark eyes boring into mine. "Perhaps you feel _your_ actions may have righted the imbalance you created in the world by killing eight innocent people, but there is _nothing_ I can do to redeem myself of this mistake," he hissed at me.

"Or mend your heart," I added gently, still speaking in a musical cadence.

The man turned away from me as he attempted to escape his vulnerability.

"So what are you going to do?" I whispered again.

"Nothing," he asserted, and then thought of the poison he had concocted at home, and imagined himself drinking it. I tried to contain my frustration as I asked:

"You will let her death go to waste?"

"Nothing could ever be gained from her death! Don't you dare speak of things you do not understand! Her life has been wasted, nothing I can do could ever change that," he choked out. I tried to maintain my hold on my own façade as I struggled not to inform the boy of exactly how much I _did_ understand.

_You are doing well, Edward. Keep calm, Son, _Carlisle encouraged me.

I took a quick breath, one the boy would not have been able to hear, and then decided to continue probing him. According to Alice's visions, the future was still hazy; I was on the borderline of making a difference.

"There must be something," I impressed on him calmly, "and when you find it you could channel your energy, your grief, your remorse, your love into doing that thing for her- something that might matter."

"There is nothing," he insisted. "Her child and husband are dead."

Automatically, I raised my eyebrows for I knew his statement was false, and I wanted him to see my reaction. When I realised he detected my scepticism, I quickly returned my face to a neutral expression.

_What does this boy know? _He wondered.

_Perfect, _I congratulated myself. Hopefully he would have seen my momentary insight, and at least explore the possibility that Lily's son or husband was not dead before taking his own life.

"There must be a way; everything is able to be balanced," I gently persisted, hoping to further reinforce this idea of redemption.

"Why can't you accept that such balance is impossible for some of us? We cannot all be as lucky as you!" he snapped at me, feeling frustrated by my foolish hope that balance and justice even existed in the world which has caused him so much pain. "And perhaps I don't want to be forgiven," he added truthfully. Now not only had I realised just how difficult it would be to convince him of anything that would preserve his 'worthless' life, but even if he did survive, he could never forgive himself. But I knew he did not deserve this pain- he had made a mistake, a mistake that was an _accident_, but it would take a lifetime for him to believe it.

"Then how will you live with your pain?" I queried as I struggled to ignore the affect his agony was having on me.

"I won't," he informed me in a reactive, detached manner. However, when he had the time to process the words that left his mouth, the boy's reaction was one of shock. He then felt relieved to have finally told someone, even a complete stranger that he was not coping.

Rod pondered over what the boy's response meant, but was not able to join the dots. My family was a different story, however. Alice and Jasper knew the boy's intentions already, but the others did not. Instantly, they understood both what I was trying to do, and why Jasper needed to remain in the car for several minutes.

I heard Esme's gasp outside, as she begun to understand this boy; she too attempted suicide when she was still human.

_Oh woah, _Emmett thought to himself; he was not expecting this.

Rosalie's mind was surprisingly calm, almost as if his death would resolve the fears she had of being discovered. I managed to hide my snarl by focusing on Carlisle's more pleasant thoughts.

_I am proud of you for trying to help this boy, Edward._

It was a relief to have my family know half of the reason I was putting us at risk of being discovered and missing our flight. However, they still remained ignorant of the other half.

Although my mind was able to take on board the emotional upheaval that occurred outside, my primary focus remained on the boy in front of me; his eyes were brimming with tears.

_Yes, _I encouraged him in my mind. _Let me in._

His tears were reflective of his agony as he realised how much he desired death, and the immense hate he felt towards himself.

My mind was attacked by his grief as it collapsed on his chest.

Suddenly a relentless wave of thoughts invaded my mind.

_There is no purpose to my life. I have never done anything right; everything I do results in someone's death. I do not deserve to live. Why couldn't I be left in peace in these final moments of my life? I want to be free,__ please__. _His final thought was a prayer.

_I did not mean to take that from you, _I thought at him, my conscience putting my own guilt into silent words. Then I instinctively moved my hand towards the boy hoping to comfort him for my sake and Jasper's. My brother had closed his eyes, his body tense as he fought against the boy's desire to leave his drained body- leave his internal hell- leave this life. Concerned for Jasper, I monitored his mind, waiting for him to either ease the boy's pain through his gift or find a way to cope with the agony himself. Neither option was easy to accomplish.

Within two seconds however, I realised the boy was confused as to why I was physically reaching out to him. Immediately I stopped moving, and just as quickly I pulled my hand back to my side

Unfortunately, the astute boy had noticed my momentary act of comfort in reaction to his tears. He wished to perform something called 'Legilimency' which would allow him to… read my _thoughts?_

_Edward? _Jasper spoke to me, having felt the fear in my body. I concentrated on calming myself down so my brother knew I was fine. To do this, I focused on the boy's thoughts, alert for any further reference to this 'Legilimency' technique. However, it seemed to be a passing thought, which helped me to relax.

I then allowed my mind to recall the most recent statement the boy had uttered:

"I won't." Unfortunately, he had not given me anything further to work with. I forced myself not to underestimate how important the tears in his eyes were to my cause; there was emotion and a great amount of hurt beneath his façade, and I was getting closer to reaching it. Further, these tears represented his connection to his impending death and his longing to be free of this life.

"You can't forgive yourself?" I whispered with what little hope I had left.

_Could you if you were me?_ He silently challenged me before replying out loud:

"Of course not."

"You don't believe you deserve it?"

_Do you think I deserve it? _he shouted at me in his head.

It took an incredible amount of self control not to shout back: _Yes, you do. _

But that retort quickly disappeared when the boy recalled an event from earlier that day. Quickly, it enveloped me. The images in combination with his commentary caused me to tense in distress. He was remembering the moment when he found Lily's dead body underneath the rubble of the Potters' ruined house.

_She was hidden and invisible, her life forgotten by everyone except me... as if her life meant nothing. But she was __everything__ to me! _I cringed both at the intensity of his thoughts and what I saw. I had seen plenty of dead bodies, but the grief that went with his memories were terribly painful for me to endure. I noticed Jasper mentally and physically flinch.

_I remember her beautiful green eyes looking up at me, wide and filled with fear. How can I forgive myself for causing her so much pain in the last moments of her life?_

_How can I possibly forgive myself for __this__?! _He silently demanded of me as flashes of Lily's ghostly, terrified, colourless face stared up at us. _For her misery? For the loss of her life, her husband's, and her son's? If I had kept my mouth shut, the Dark Lord would not have known about the prophecy and Lily would still be alive. My actions are __unforgiveable__. There is not an ounce of my soul that believes I deserve forgiveness or any reprieve for the crime I have committed._

And that was when I knew that forgiveness would not be the answer. So why was the future still blurry? There was still an element of uncertainty; _something _must stem from this.

"I can see you love her," I observed delicately, lowering my body towards him. "But your actions cannot be as terrible as you say they are. Her death was an accident after all," I reminded him.

He stared angrily at me, and I knew my attempts were fruitless. I sat rigidly on the stool contemplating what I could say from here.

"Of course, I cannot stop you from doing what you feel you must. I wanted to do something similar when I killed all those people too. But then I remembered there was more to my life than just me, that there were people who would miss me if I died," I eventually uttered, hoping he would consider whether _he _would be missed.

Quickly, I turned towards the door.

I remembered how I felt after drinking the blood of eight criminals. I felt guilty, not for their deaths, but for betraying my father, whom I loved.

_I love my parents too much, _I said to myself, allowing that love to fill me up. _I could not leave them._

"He's remembering how guilty he felt after his rebellion against you," Jasper whispered to my father. "He loves you."

From what I could hear of my parent's thoughts they already knew what I was referring to.

_We love you too, _they both thought simultaneously, Esme's eyes welling in tears once again.

"No one would notice if I died," the boy answered me, causing me to turn around again.

"I am certain someone would," I insisted, wondering if I was right- could I be that lucky?

"They would notice, but they would not care," he clarified, and then I saw a man with a pointed pale face, and long blonde hair materialise in this boy's mind, someone by the name of 'Lucius'. He also felt Albus Dumbledore would notice his absence, but the boy did not feel an emotional connection to either of them. Every ounce of love he had was poured into his relationship with Lily; he really seemed to have no one, and that pained me terribly. But his future did not have to be reflective of his past. I needed to maintain the hope of a better future for him if I was to ever convince him of such a possibility.

"And what of all the things you would have done in the future, all the people you would have met and affected in years to come? Will you deprive them of your presence?" I continued, daring to sound hopeful again.

Unfortunately, the boy laughed humourlessly at me because he knew I was grasping at 'non-existent' straws. Well, I was not willing to believe that.

"Deprive them of my hate? My bitterness? They would be better off without me," he informed me without a doubt in his mind. And I could well imagine that his self-hate and his bitterness towards others would make it difficult for him to make friends. But someone who loved so deeply could not be doomed to live this way. Could they?

I opened my mouth about to protest and remind him of how capable he is of love when he continued:

"And even if I was able to influence countless lives in a positive way, as you are suggesting, it would not be worth the years of pain," he continued, speaking loudly over me. This was the first time he had asserted something so powerfully to me, so I contemplated his words.

If the boy could never be convinced that his _mistake_ _indirectly_ led to Lily's death, then living with his guilt would indeed be traumatising for him. Jasper and I most certainly were struggling to be in his presence, and in no way did I want such a future for this boy.

_But _I wondered whether he would change his mind if he knew how vital he was to the wellbeing of countless others…

"I suppose so," I eventually and reluctantly agreed with him. "The happiness of others is not worth your sanity," I stated, knowing I would have to support the opposite in a few minutes.

"I am not capable of providing anyone with happiness," he told me with certainty.

_I have no joy to give._

Neither Jasper nor I would have disagreed with him on that count. But I also knew, or rather hoped that if he was encouraged- if he had a friend to talk to- he could be happy… one day.

"Mmm perhaps, but that does not mean you would not be important to them- that you wouldn't have a purpose in their lives," I reasoned with him.

"I would only make them_ miserable_." _Not that I would care._

"Or you may keep them _alive_; you could save others even though you couldn't save _her_."

"What are you suggesting?" he asked me feeling suspicious and slightly irritated by what I was implicating.

"That every human life has a purpose," I informed him truthfully; in my heart I believed it despite the countless of human lives I know are taken each day due to my species.

"If that were so, then Lily's was to die because of my actions. What was the purpose of that?"

"I am certain the purpose of her life was not to die at your hand- perhaps her purpose was fulfilled before her death?" I suggested mysteriously. As hard as it would be for this boy to accept, who loved this woman so deeply, I wondered whether her son was her purpose, to give birth to him and protect him for as long as she could. I should have known he would not appreciate my suggestion.

"Be silent!" he snapped at me, but only because he was frightened. Not that I would hurt him, but of my knowledge. His stomach was churning with anxiety and he wondered how much I knew of his world and of Lily. I wanted to use this opportunity to my advantage, but I could not acknowledge his thoughts and feelings which he believed were hidden from me.

But I sensed I was close- _so _close to breaking him.

I needed to push him further; if he could be led to believe that Lily died for a reason, perhaps he would wish to assume her role.

It was a hope I clung to.

"So is your purpose to die tonight? Is that why you were born? To destroy her and then kill yourself?" I yelled at him unintentionally, my desperation seeping through my own calm façade.

Just as the boy was answering me, Esme and Alice simultaneously cried out my name in shock.

"Edward!"

Thankfully the boy only registered voices, but not what they said. But the bartender did, and assumed correctly that I had family or friends standing outside the bar eavesdropping. Thankfully he did not want to move to let them in or explore further; a part of him feared me whilst another supported my goal; he didn't want his customer to die either. In the end, Rod decided not to distract either of us and stayed behind the bar.  
"Yes, what else have I done with my life?" was what the boy demanded of me over the yells of my sister and mother, his body shaking with rage and remorse.

_Edward, _Jasper warned loudly. I tried to listen to my family's warnings, but I was running out of time (only ten minutes remained) and I _needed_ to succeed.

"Are you incapable of seeing the potential good you have done? To love someone as you do- you cannot be as evil or as uncaring as you claim to be!" I tried to say with feeling.

"I do not know what you believe you understand about me, but I demand you to stop! You know nothing of my life or hers- do not make assumptions about what it is like to be _me_!" he screamed at me, his body still shaking, and his breathing rapid as he tried to calm himself down.

I opened my mouth to counter his argument when I was almost deafened by Jasper's voice.

_His body is telling him to fight you, Edward! Do not give him a reason to duel, _he told me seriously, and I could hear him moving uncomfortably outside as my family watched him react to the boy's emotions. I tilted my head towards the door concentrating on Jasper's thoughts and those of my family.

What could Alice see? When I thought of backing down, nothing unusual appeared in my future, so I relaxed as Jasper sent calming thoughts in my direction. He understood that I was frustrated, but given the limited amount of time we had, now was not the moment to encourage the wizard to fight.

_Edward, _Alice spoke to me seriously then, and showed me an image of us missing our plane if we did not leave within the next ten minutes. I attempted to remain calm, but found myself rubbing my temples with my fingers.

_Think, _I encouraged myself. There had to be _something_ I could say…

Eventually a thought came into my mind, which made Alice quietly squeal in delight as the future clearly transformed and the humans around us were safe and free. If the boy reacted in the way consistent with his current inclinations, then we were about to change the future.

I clenched my jaw when I realised what I was contemplating at the time the future changed- it was only meant as a joke. Now that I knew it would work, I needed to try despite the multiple concerns I had about the scheme.

There was hope after all, but at what cost?

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down; this would be my last attempt at saving this boy's life.

Eventually I opened my eyes and stared determinedly at the boy in front of me.

"Do you believe in fortune tellers?" I asked him.

I ignored the gasps I heard from my family outside; I was not altering my plan.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. His response made me feel relief that so far our discussion was running smoothly, but also surprised that he was so willing to admit this belief; few humans would.

_Of course I believe in Seers, one of them is the reason why I'm in this situation. The prophecy was fulfilled as she predicted: the Dark Lord is dead, even if it cost three lives. No… nothing would be worth her life, not even His._

"My sister has the ability to see the future of those around her," I explained further as I searched his eyes for his reaction.

_Will he believe me?_ I wondered. But all I could feel was confusion from the two humans near me, and dread from my family outside.

_This is dangerous territory, _Emmett thought to himself, feeling slightly uneasy.

"Why would he say such a thing?" Esme wondered out loud, still not fully understanding why I was speaking to this boy to begin with.

The hiss I heard came from Rosalie's mouth, and I knew she disapproved of my honesty.

Alice and Carlisle were silently praying that I knew what I was doing.

I sighed. I needed to push through this; time was running out.

"I came into this pub tonight to try to change your mind. I see I have failed," I spoke gently. I then felt my body bow slightly as if physically upset by this. I stopped looking at him, and a strange sense of failure came over me. The future was clearly a positive one so far, but all of my previous efforts had been in vain. If I were to succeed, how would this boy live? Would his grief consume him to emotional and psychological death? Was suicide a better option for him than the one I was about to suggest? I shuddered to think.

The boy was watching me closely, wondering why I looked so down. However, within two seconds his concern for me morphed into resentment; he believed I had been manipulating him.

And with that, the wonderful future I had seen disappeared…

I heard Alice moan in disappointment.

But Jasper was on the alert.

_He's angry, Edward, _he warned me.

I looked up with my eyes and saw the pale man's face, his fists clenched at the perceived injustice he felt took place.

"Ever since you walked in here you have been _lying_ to me," he stated plainly through his teeth, believing that I would not be able to deny it. His caution around me completely dissipated as he pushed aside my 'story' of killing eight people.

This did not impress me- to be called a liar, especially when I had personally struggled to even be in the same room as him for the last 55 minutes.

My eyes narrowed in anger. I saw through the boy's mind that my irises had turned black. Suddenly his fear returned; I was no longer the god-like creature he perceived me to be upon our acquaintance. Now he thought of me as a demon, and perhaps that was best if I wanted him to listen to me.

"No, I was not lying to you," I informed him as patiently as I could, Jasper again sending calming thoughts and influences my way. "I hoped my personal experiences would have provoked you to see there are other options than ending your life."

"Says the attractive kid who got away with 'killing' eight people!" he snapped at me gesturing harshly at my body.

_Probably had a female judge who was so caught up in his appearance that she did not see the demon within. _

I reacted instinctively to his thoughts, forgetting momentarily that I should not have been able to hear them. In an instant, I was closer to the boy than would have been considered polite.

_Edward, _Jasper warned cautiously, sensing my anger.

I stared into the boy's black eyes which were wide and clearly frightened of me. But this was not how he was supposed to react; the boy's reactions kept altering the future, and I had had enough.

I needed to get that damn future back- the one I had been working towards.

I could not _fail_ this…

When I took a further step towards him, the boy fell of his stool and a moment later it clattered to the ground.

"What's happening?" Esme asked immediately in response to the sound, worried for me as she turned to Jasper and Alice for answers. But neither of them answered, one was focused on keeping me calm, while the other was focusing on the future.

I could sense and feel the fear in the boy as he looked into my darkened face. Despite the amount he had had to drink, this boy retained his intelligence and used it to consciously change the subject in the hope the darkness in my eyes would disappear.

"Why didn't your sister come in here to tell me this?" he asked me hastily, hoping this was a sufficient distraction.

As he had hoped, his question caused me pause- not because I did not know the answer, but because I did not know what to tell him. In contemplation, I took a couple of steps backwards, which the boy was relieved about.

"She wanted to, but I assumed you would be drunk. I did not want her to get hurt." This was somewhat true. However, the more pressing fact that he could perform magic was the overarching reason I volunteered myself for this near impossible task.

"Well please do thank her for wanting to inform me that my suicide plan will be a success," he informed me sarcastically feeling far braver now that I was not in his face. "I could not have foreseen that."

"Your future was not the one she saw," I told him patiently and somewhat mysteriously, whilst struggling to ignore his attitude.

"Then whose was it?" he asked, trying not to sound shaken by this new piece of information.

"Your neighbours'," I informed him, and then used my hand to indicate the houses beyond the pub we were standing in. "Their future is that of slavery and punishment-"

"That is not my concern-"

This statement made the bartender feel uncomfortable. He had assumed correctly that _he_ was one of the neighbours I referred to, so he desperately wanted to know whether there was anything _he_ could do to reduce the chance of slavery. Naturally, I could not answer him without making my gift obvious, so I focused on the boy in front of me.

"_This_ became their future only when you changed the means of ending your life," I told him pointedly, my gaze determined as I leaned towards him slightly.

_How could he know that? _The boy wondered.

My family, on the other hand, now understood why I had led them off the main road.

"Somehow _you_ were the difference between their freedom and their capture," I continued, hoping he would believe me.

"That is impossible- you are lying."

I felt my eyes flicker dangerously, my body was tensed as I tried to master my frustration with him.

_Stay clam, Edward, _Jaz encouraged me gently.

"I promise you I am not. I speak the truth. However you may perceive your life, there must be something good in you- something good you do in the future that spares these people from a terrible existence!" I shouted at him, my own fear seeping through as I wondered whether I was trying to save a heartless boy.

_Could he be that selfish? _But even as the thought entered my mind, I immediately dismissed it; I knew he was not. I reminded myself that he was in pain, and living in his own personal Hell. If I were him, I would want to end my life too no matter who may rely on me in future.

The wizard was observing my face and noticed the emotional conflict I was experiencing. He wondered why I cared so much, and considered whether I shared his pain some how.

The extent of this boy's insight was beginning to frighten me.

"Their lives are not worth my own," the boy continued relentlessly; he was not about the change his mind, even if it had a negative impact on me and hundreds of others. "I will not continue to live in this _Hell_ in the hope that one day I could help people I don't even know. Besides, you are likely wrong; slavery is a thing of the past." Despite his curiosity at my emotional investment in his life and the increasing frustration he could see in my face, this boy was not backing down.

"You know of whom I speak- you know who has the capacity to place these people into slavery and torture them!" I hissed at him.

_What exactly did his sister see? _He wondered. _Wizards? Death Eaters? _

Realising the secrets of his kind may have been breached through my sister's gift, the boy reached into his robes and wrapped his fingers around his wand.

_I need to erase his memory; he cannot know._

My body instantly became rigid at the prospect of losing my memory. I had not considered such a spell, and yet it was likely such a charm would be their primary form of protection from 'Muggles'. Although he maintained enough of his reason to realise that a memory charm would be useless when my sister retained _her_ memory, every instinct told me _I_ needed to back down. I could not take my eyes away from the wand I knew was hidden beneath his cloak- in a split second he may change his mind and attack me. I could not take the risk; my memory was everything to me.

"Careful, Edward," Jasper said out loud having sensed the change in the emotional climate of the room. Slowly I moved a couple of steps towards the door, wanting to make it clear to the boy that I do not intend to harm him.

"He's dead," the boy hissed at me, images of his 'Lord' floating through his mind.

"Are you sure?" I challenged him as I continued to inch towards the exit, my body crouched down slightly in case I needed to flee at a second's notice.

If I could place doubt in his mind that his master was dead, perhaps this would motivate him enough to protect those who remained.

"Of course he's dead!"

"And if he isn't? What if you are wrong?"

"I could not care less," he told me, whilst silently acknowledging to himself how selfish he sounded.

The boy watched my expression as I frowned, not in disappointment, but in understanding. I was beginning to accept that without being able to effectively lessen his current pain, there was no chance he would choose to prolong his life for anyone except Lily.

The boy noticed the change in my face and believed I was disappointed or angry, but by this stage I was mentally exhausted… I could not fight him any longer.

"Grief is painful," I acknowledged as I moved a couple of steps closer towards the exit. "I can see how much you miss her. Death would be the easier way out. I understand that." Then I sighed, my eyes still locked on his even though I was moving away from him. "I wanted you to know that your life will be worth something to many, even if they are not or may never be aware of your importance in their life. But _you_ know it now. Do not take your life unless you are _certain_ it is not worth living. _Please_," I begged of him, my voice resuming its musical quality.

I was pleased when I felt his body almost collapse as the weight of my words hit him like a tonne of bricks; I did not want to cause him pain, but I did want him to listen to me. Only then did I see his face reflect the emotional pain I knew coarse through his body.

"I have no choice!" he shouted at me, his breathing coming in waves as he tried to suppress his sobs. I already knew how hopeless he felt. I needed to remind him that as hard as it would be, grief and guilt were both emotions he could live with.

"You do," I insisted, my voice still maintaining its musical quality. And I knew he did, but I also understood I was asking him to take the far more difficult path that even the strongest of humans would struggle to embark on.

"No, you do _not_ understand!" he cried back feeling pathetic as his voice wavered. "I cannot live like this!" he screamed at me, tears prickling his eyes.

The truth of his words almost broke me, because I could feel both he and my brother experience his agony. Indeed, one could not _truly_ live in this way, but as much as I wanted to, I could not give up on this boy. If I had learnt anything that evening, it was how incredibly intelligent and strong this boy was. Perhaps he would not be completely broken if he chose to live.

I felt selfish for asking him; it was a significant request. And in my mind it was made worse because I knew my time was up; my family needed to leave if we were to catch our plane. Just when I had finally broken through his defences, I was now leaving him more upset and vulnerable than he was when we first met. My chest clenched painfully, hating myself for intervening in this wizard's life; he had just lost the love of his life. I broke him down to the point of tears, and now I was abandoning him, and could not provide an explanation for it. I did not even know his name.

"Please, try," I begged of him, knowing this would be the final words I left him with. Unbidden, the venom in my eyes rose to the surface. I forced myself not to wipe them away; I wanted the boy to see that I was emotional too, and that I was sorry for leaving him.

_Why is he so upset? _The boy wondered.

But I did not have time to explain, and at a quick human pace I moved towards the door, wrenched it open and left the pub.

The version of the future in Alice's vision was the one we hoped for at the time I left the boy's presence. The moment I stepped out of the pub, I led my family towards our cars, my attention focused on Alice's thoughts as the future wavered between the alternatives as the boy's decision to end his life oscillated.

I knew my mother wanted to speak with me, to comfort me, but I could not stop running; I needed to get away from here.

Thoughts of my failure and how much time I wasted filled me up, but ultimately it was my own guilt and sadness that drove me forward. Jasper knew this, but decided he would not mention it until we reached the car. But Esme knew I had become upset in the pub, so she tried to catch up to me.

"Edward," Esme attempted to begin, her hand resting on my shoulder as we ran.

_Stop for a moment, Sweetheart._

"We need to leave," I reminded her under my breath, ignoring her request. Of course, I could have stopped; the two seconds it would have taken Esme to hug me and tell me I did my best would not have made a difference. But I was running for a reason; I could not stop because if I did, the emotions building in my chest may come through, and I did not want them to. Jasper could also feel the extent of my sadness; he knew how trapped I felt in my body. If the boy chose to live, he and I both knew it would be a difficult life for him. And if he chose to die, it would no longer be in peaceful solitude as it would have been before I intervened. Because of me, he now knows what he would be leaving behind: innocent humans to suffer under his master's hand.

I had been _cruel_ to the boy.

When we arrived at the car, I resumed my place in the driver's seat. I took a moment to sit in silence. Jasper sat carefully in the passenger's seat waiting patiently for me to come to terms with my own emotions rather than forcing a calm onto me.

"Edward, you did the best you could," Alice's voice rung in my left ear from the back seat. And I did know this, but it was not enough.

"It is up to him now," Jasper reminded me. "We cannot expect him to choose the hard way, not when he feels so…" But Jaz could not find the words and neither could I.

I exhaled slowly, and rested my head against the back of my seat. I knew I had to accept whatever choice he would make tonight. And in turn, forgive myself for the influence I may have played in that choice. The wizard knew what would happen if he left the world- he believed me, of that I was certain. But what would he decide? Ironically, after the sixty agonising minutes I spent in his presence, I hoped he would choose to die. Having experienced his turmoil every second of that hour, I did not want him to live that way- I did not want that poor boy to suffer.

It was not his responsibility to protect his neighbours- it should be the magical world that fixes whatever that dark tyrant would do to those humans.

I turned the key in the ignition and stared blankly out of the windscreen. Jaz reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder.

_If he chooses to take his life, it would be the decision most would make… if he chooses to live, he would be a braver and stronger man than most, _Jasper reminded me. _Either way he is extraordinary. We know this… Edward, we can only expect him to do so much._

I nodded my head in understanding and agreement. What upset me most was the boy appeared to be blind to his intelligence, his capacity to love, and the extent of his emotional and physical control. The nature of his mind appeared to defy that of humans; was truly incredible even when under the influence of alcohol. But hedid _not_ believe any of this.

As I drove away from Spinner's End, my greatest regret was that I never acknowledged how incredibly difficult this decision would for him be either way. Although it was not possible, I wish I could have told him that for the remainder of my existence, I would remember and respect him regardless of the choice he made.

XXXXXX

Author's note: And that is the end of Chapter 3- Forgiveness. I hope you enjoyed this first meeting between Edward and Severus. Remember, if you are at all curious as to Severus' side of this conversation, feel free to read the 3rd Chapter of 'Leave Me' (which can be found on my profile page).

I intend to update 'Leave Me' next where readers can catch a detailed glimpse of what Severus does after this conversation took place. I then intend to alternate the writing and posting of chapters between the two stories (i.e. 'Leave Me' and 'A life worth living' until the 14 year gap takes place in the plotline (as mentioned in the introduction to both stories).

I hope the next chapter will be posted in the next week or two (fingers crossed)!

Finally, please leave me a review- you know how much I love to hear from you all!


	5. Chapter 4 Guilt

Author's note: Hi guys! Welcome back to A Life Worth Living :)

I have been overseas the last couple of weeks, but thankfully managed to finish this chapter for you :D Sadly there will be a wait for the next instalment of 'Leave Me', but I hope to have it done this week before I return to work (ie. Within the next week).

I hope you enjoy this chapter; I enjoyed writing it and taking a trip through Edward's psyche this time ;)

Finally, I wanted to mention that I have changed a portion of chapter 2 so it matched aspects of this chapter (and canon, in fact). Don't worry there is no need for you to read the changes as I have summarised them below:

Originally when the Cullens were driving towards the airport (and Spinner's End) they communicated via phones. However, I realised (just now- slow right?) that as vampires they would be able to hear each other talking from within either car. Now, the chapter reads so they communicate without the assistance of a phone. It is so strange I never realised this before, but anyway, the change is made now and will be carried through the story from here on :)

Anyway, enough of my rambling; please enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review when you're done :)

'A Life Worth Living'

Chapter 4- Guilt

Edward's POV

I was grateful it was late on a Tuesday night when we left Spinner's End; it was easier to drive at dangerously high speeds (for a human) when the roads were deserted. When the Volvo's wheels touched the highway, I pushed the car to well beyond the speed limit; we had half an hour to complete what was normally an hour trip to the airport.

Although Carlisle was easily able to keep up with me, he did so reluctantly; my father was concerned whether I should even be driving.

"I feel fine, Carlisle," I spoke to him in a conversational tone knowing he would be able to hear me.

_Are you sure, Son? _My father asked through his thoughts, his concern evident in his tone. _I am sure Jasper would willingly drive for you so you can take a moment to process the night's events._

"I can drive if you wish," Jasper offered from my left, unaware of the perfect timing of his suggestion. I could feel my brother's dark gold eyes staring intensely at me, his thoughts filled with concern for my well-being.

"No thank you," I said politely to my brother, and indirectly, Carlisle.

I felt perfectly fine. In fact, driving prevented me from over-analysing the conversation I just had with the young wizard. If I were persuaded to swap roles with Jasper, my mind would then have free reign to examine the role I just played in that boy's life. If I were permitted to consider how I left him close to tears, how I trapped him in between a guilt-ridden afterlife or an agonising existence, and ultimately destroyed any chance he had of being at peace, my own emotions would likely affect Jasper and _his _driving ability. Therefore, it was best that I continue to drive for everyone's safety.

"Very well, but be careful, Edward; we do not need to drive at quite this speed," Carlisle said calmly so the rest of our family could hear his warning.

I looked at the speedometer and realised I had been gradually increasing speed since Carlisle gently questioned my capacity to drive in my present state. I could not decide whether this indicated I was losing control of my senses or because I wanted to escape Spinner's End as soon as possible. It was likely a combination of both, but I was not in a suitable physical or mental state to examine my psyche any further. Nevertheless, I released the accelerator slightly to show my father I was in control of my actions- that my mind was not lost in the night's events as he had feared.

"We will make it in time, Edward," Alice informed me, her voice more musical than was normal. "This speed is good," she reassured me gently, reaching over from the back seat to put her hand on my shoulder.

_Whatever you are blaming yourself for, it was not your fault, _my sister insisted, her fingers squeezing my shoulder soothingly.

"I know," I mumbled in her general direction as I turned my head slightly to my left.

_Are you sure you do not need or want me to drive? _Jaz checked in with me having seen the way his wife had acted and the corresponding emotions he felt come from both of us.

I nodded my head at him; I was fine.

"Now we have that settled, I want details," Rosalie insisted loudly from the Mercedes. "I was able to make some conclusions along the way, but now I want you to explain to us exactly why you spent an hour talking to that boy."

"Wait, let me guess," Emmett insisted enthusiastically.

My siblings sighed loudly.

"Oh come on- it'll be fun; we still have at least twenty minutes before we get to the airport," he continued cheerfully.

"Very well, Emmett," Carlisle replied permissively after none of us provided a vocal objection.

"Okay," he drawled out, thrilled by the nights' events. I could hear him rubbing his big hands together in anticipation. "I am going to guess the big one; I might as well go 'all out' given what we've discovered tonight."

"Spit it out, Emmett," Rosalie insisted, as she was eager to find out the facts rather than endure a prolonged guessing game with her husband.

"Jeez, Rose, give me a minute to enjoy this- our lives have been so boring recently."  
"Well I am glad _someone _found tonight's events amusing," Jasper muttered sarcastically.

"Oh hey, come on!" Emmett asserted, as his humour gradually began to recede. "I know it wasn't fun for you guys, and I swear it wasn't amusing to me either while Edward was in there. But now that we are all safe, we might as well consider how much more we just discovered about this magical human species!" he tried to reason with us.

"What is your guess, Emmett?" I asked loudly of my brother, hoping to bring him back to the task at hand.

"You already know, Edward- it's been in my thoughts for the last five minutes at least."

Naturally, I knew this to be true; I had seen glimpses of his guesses. However, I had been too caught up in my own thoughts and feelings to have paid full attention to his musings.

"Do you care to share your ideas with us, then?" Esme asked patiently, as I heard her turn in the passenger seat to stare at her son.

"Okay, this is what I think. The guy Edward was talking to was the _same _person who bumped into me in Godric's Hollow. He was looking for Lily Potter, right? Well we knew she was dead, but _he_ did not. What if he found her dead body, and then travelled back to his home in Spinner's End so grief-stricken and upset that he decided to drink his misery away at the local pub? But then, he was so overcome with his grief that he decided to kill himself instead. When he made that decision, Alice saw Spinner's End enslaved and victims of torture, presumably led by the Dark Wizard that no one wants to name. This would make sense excepthe is _supposed _to be _dead_. So basically, this boy is the difference between this dark wizard wrecking havoc and…staying dead I guess?"

For two seconds there was silence.

It seemed Alice had told Jasper what she saw whilst they were sitting in the car waiting for the boy to calm down, so he knew Emmett was right. Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie had formed similar conclusions, but would not have guessed that the boy was the same one who briefly glimpsed at Emmett and Rosalie in Godric's Hollow.

"Not bad, Emmett," I eventually allowed. "You have the basics correct, including the identity of the boy; he was indeed the same individual who bumped into you in Godric's Hollow."

"Yeah!" Emmett cheered, delighted that he was right. "Man, what are the chances of us coming across him again? Twice in one night!"

"But how do you know it was him, Edward? He never said he was grieving for Lily, did he?" Esme enquired gently.

"No, but he recalled finding her dead in her house." _Multiple times. _"I am certain he was the figure I saw stumble out of the Potter's back door. His memories of her both living and dead match those procured by the inhabitants of Godric's Hollow."

"Then perhaps you were meant to speak to him, Edward," Esme suggested tentatively, knowing that few of us believed in fate. "As Emmett said, the coincidence is quite extraordinary."

Rosalie snorted. "Well we'll see where Edward's intervention leaves us. If that boy ever informs his government of your 'Seeing' sister and what you know about their world, they will try to find you. And if the Volturi ever found out how close you were to exposing us, they will be furious. You have put us in danger!" Rosalie accused me.

"Our future has not changed," Alice insisted strongly, coming to my defence. "Edward's actions will not impact on us."

"I hope you're right because if that bartender or the wizard decides to tell _anyone_ about you, we could be in serious trouble," Rosalie argued back, as she forced her anger, frustration and fear onto me. I did my best to ignore her thoughts and the uneasy feeling I had that perhaps she was right, but it was difficult.

"If we were in any danger, I would see it," Alice asserted with confidence as if that settled the matter. I hoped she was right.

Feeling she could no longer argue with Alice's gift, Rosalie continued to seethe in silence in the back of the Mercedes and refused to talk to anyone. Her only consolation was that if something terrible did happen as a result of my decision, she would have the right to say: 'I told you so.' Despite how childish it was for her to even think of such a 'come-back', I knew better than to say this to her.

Carlisle had not spoken since Emmett requested his guess; he had been deep in thought about the implications of my intervention. My father had considered a variety of consequences which included Volturi intervention, the danger wizards may pose to our kind, and the fate of the innocent humans of Spinner's End. However, he needed more information to feed his understanding of this magical world, and I knew I had vital details my family needed to know.

"Edward, is there anything else we should be aware of?" my father asked me when he was certain Rosalie was going to remain silent.

"Yes," I began, shifting slightly in my seat knowing that what I was about to say would be as provoking for my family as it was for me. "As you may have been aware, the boy considered using magic against me on multiple occasions-"

"I had an image of him drawing his wand once," Alice chimed in, her voice tight at the memory of it. "Do you know what he planned to do to you?"

I paused in preparation for how my family would react to my answer.

When Jasper felt the anticipation that was building in my chest he asked immediately: "What was it?"

I turned slightly so I could glimpse Jasper's expression; his eyes were wide as he waited for my answer.

"Towards the beginning of our conversation, I reached out to him- to comfort him," I clarified, looking between the road and my brother's face, "I did so instinctively and thus had no time to consider how the boy would react. He was understandably confused by my gesture and my intentions." I tried to explain the situation calmly to my family, but both Jasper and Alice noticed my hands rigidly gripping the steering wheel. "Consequently, he considered using something called 'Legilimency' against me. This spell would have allowed him to," I exhaled briefly at the irony of what I was about to say, "read _my_ mind."

"Shit…" Emmett muttered under his breath, which perfectly reflected (in essence, for neither of my parents would be caught saying such a word) the sentiments of the rest of my family.

"But he chose not to," Jasper confirmed with me, assuming I would have informed them if the boy was privy to the many secrets stored in my mind.

"Correct; he believed he was too intoxicated to perform the spell properly," I reassured him.

"Thank goodness," Alice commented, and then briefly permitted herself to imagine an alternate universe where the boy was sober and our secret was known to him.

As I allowed Alice's imaginings to float through my mind, which included a livid Rosalie and a dangerously displeased Volturi, I felt incredibly lucky.

_Thank God he was intoxicated._

My train of thought was interrupted when Esme's quiet voice penetrated my consciousness.

"Is- is there anything else?"

Despite Esme's discomfort, I chuckled humourlessly knowing that my most recent revelation was not as concerning as the one I was about to reveal to them. I saw Alice and Jasper briefly glance at one another with concern when they heard my laugh.

"I don't like the sound of this," Emmett murmured, and my family silently agreed with him.

"When I told him what Alice had seen, and he heard my indirect reference to the Dark Wizard, he realised I knew that witches and wizards exist. Like us, their world is to be kept secret from any one who is not a part of it. Their primary means of protecting their world is through secrecy," I explained. "However, if secrecy fails or is not possible, wizards are expected to eliminate the knowledge of their world from the individual's memory-"

My sisters' and mother's gasps and Emmett's swearing forced me to cease speaking for a moment. I could sense Jasper's rigid body next to me, and Carlisle's intense concern from the car behind us.

For a moment there was silence, and I allowed them that second of contemplation before continuing.

"When I learnt of his intentions I began to move towards the door to make evident my intention to leave."

Each member of my family acknowledged that this was a wise decision, but they were still finding it difficult to vocalise exactly how they felt; to lose our memory, even a small portion of it, would be an unspeakable loss.

Now that they were aware of some of the magic these humans could perform, each member of my family considered how dangerous this magical human species could be to our kind. All of us, to differing degrees, struggled between three desires: to avoid further interactions with them altogether, to learn more about their species, and report their existence to the Volturi. My gift allowed me to be comfortable with the second option; I would be forewarned if the human I was communicating with was of magical descent and could thus act accordingly. However, my family would naturally be void of this ability, and therefore felt more threatened by the prospect of meeting another witch or wizard than I was.

Nevertheless, the fear and trepidation each of them felt was understandable and expected. By this time, I had already come to terms with what I had learnt during my interaction with the boy, and had placed each fact into perspective. Consequently, I felt it important to share my thoughts with my family to assist their own understanding of what I had told them.

"Tonight we learnt that there are a subset of humans who are capable of wielding a wand and performing magic. So far, we know these humans can read other's minds, can erase one's memories, and can perform both torture and killing curses. Now that we are aware of these magical humans, we obviously need to remain alert for other members of this population. However, given they strive to remain hidden and considering I have never heard such a mind before now, I feel it is highly unlikely we will meet another wizard unless they want to be found."

The level of rationality I expressed in the above calmed my family slightly, but their underlying fear that we _could _fall victim to magic one day and the consequences of such a situation remained their foremost concern.

"Despite what I have said," I continued, noticing how much I sounded like my father "we need to consider _to what extent _these spells and curses would actually affect us."

"The only way for us to know for certain is to be victim of their magic. As far as we know, none of our kind has fought a wizard before. We would be fools to assume such spells would be ineffective against us! These wizards are _dangerous,_" Rosalie hissed.

"During my time with the Volturi, the existence of a magical subset of human beings was never mentioned. However, if they were dangerous to us, I am certain Aro would know this and have informed his guard at the very least," Carlisle tried to reason with Rosalie, as he recalled his time serving alongside Aro and his brothers.

"And if he doesn't know about them? What if they have been living in secret for multiple millennia just as the Volturi have? What if Edward and Alice's gifts allowed them to be the first vampires to discover these magical humans?" Rosalie countered, her voice rising in volume and pitch.

"Of course, you could be right," Carlisle conceded, but nevertheless, considered her proposal unlikely; Aro made it his business to know about all humans, even those who could use magic to conceal themselves from creatures such as us. "But we need to remember that these witches and wizards wish to live in secret, and therefore should have no desire to make their world known to us. If they were to use magic against us, they would risk being discovered."

"I agree with Carlisle," I intervened then, knowing Rosalie was devising yet another rebuttal to Carlisle's reminder. "Despite being intoxicated, the boy was quite certain I was not entirely human. That, in addition to Rod's presence made him reluctant to openly perform magic. So as long as there are two of us present, there will always be a witness; they would not risk one of us escaping," I reasoned with my sister.

"But their _magic- _this 'mind reading' you speak of,allows them to breach _our _secrecy and discover what _we _are. We would be forced to kill them-"

"Rosalie!" Esme objected.

"They would not leave us alone if they knew vampires exist!"

"They would be foolish _not_ to leave us be, Rosalie; most of our kind, as you say would kill them without a second thought," Carlisle spoke calmly, hoping to de-escalate Rosalie's fears. When she failed to vocalise a rebuttal to our father's reasoning, Carlisle continued more forcefully.

"I think we all need to take a moment," he insisted, addressing all of us now, "to remember that a spell would need to hit our skin in order to take affect. I imagine any of us could easily evade any magical attack. Therefore, we would need to be physically incapacitated before any wizard could gain access to our minds."

I was relieved to find that Carlisle's words were effective in reminding my family of the otherworldly qualities _we_ possess that give us a significant advantage over any human, even those with magical abilities.

My family's anxiety reduced substantially when they remembered how much power _we _still possessed even when opposing magic- a fact that had understandably escaped their notice when confronted with the night's events.

Emmett was the first to speak after my father's necessary reminder:

"Given we are already dead, the killing curse may not even work against us," Emmett pointed out.

"Exactly, we are already dead," I emphasised, glad that my brother was able to bring the conversation back to my original point. "And our minds are far quicker and more complex than a human's. Even if the boy _did_ attempt to enter my mind or erase my memories, it is entirely possible his magic would have been ineffective."

"But these are all speculations!" Rosalie cut in, feeling frustrated that the facts were not available to us.

"This is all we have for now," I reminded her calmly. "Alice has not seen our future change, so we can assume we are safe for the moment. If that _were_ to change, we will address it when the time comes. They may have magic, but we still have speed, strength, and our senses to guide and protect us."

"But what if that is not enough? They may have other magical abilities we are unaware of; who knows what else that boy could have done to you?" Rosalie argued back forcefully, though her concern for my safety did not escape my notice.

"If these humans were so dangerous the Volturi would know about them, and would have shared their knowledge with us, Rosalie," I suggested calmly to her.

"But-"

"Edward is probably right, Rose; I doubt these spells will affect us as they affect humans," Alice intervened, hoping Rosalie would be more inclined to believe her. "Of course, we cannot take this for granted, but at the moment, we must trust that the Volturi would go to every effort to ensure the safety of our species. If they discovered witches and wizards could some how thwart our strength and our speed, they would have been killed or turned."

"What if they could not be found?" Rosalie challenged her sister.

"If they could not be found, they are not a danger to us," Carlisle reminded her yet again before Alice had the chance to reply.

Finally, Rosalie was no longer able to deny the argument we had clearly and patiently laid out before her. As much as she disliked anything that may put our family at risk, Rosalie knew that the Volturi would not stand for the survival of any species that were an active threat to our kind.

"So what are we going to do about all of this?" Jasper asked our family, but was in fact only interested in Carlisle's response.

"Keep it to ourselves," our father responded immediately. "The boy needs us to keep his secret as much as we hope he will keep ours. He would surely have enough sense to at least fear Alice retaliating if she were to See him tell others about her gift. We must trust that he will keep silent, and until we have proof to the contrary, we should do the same."

Rosalie sighed with annoyance; she always disliked relying on others for our safety and Carlisle's tendency to trust humans.

However, I agreed with Carlisle; I felt the boy would not be inclined to spread the word especially when Alice's prediction, were it publically known, would likely cause havoc in his world.

Carlisle's statement had a sense of finality to it, and we all knew we were to obey him regardless of our own sentiments. Although, my family sat in silence for a couple of minutes, their minds were far from empty as each of them continued to ponder exactly what we were agreeing to and the implications this choice may have on our futures.

Unlike the others, Rosalie was directing her thoughts towards me even though she was not directly trying to communicate with me.

_What if the Volturi found out we knowingly kept the existence of wizards from them? Why does Edward care about humans so much anyway? And why are we always forced to be a part of it? He's not even sorry for the danger he was putting us in during those sixty minutes._

"I apologise," I spoke into the silence so as to respond to Rosalie's thoughts. "For putting us in danger," I continued sincerely, and of course I meant it. "And for placing you in a painful situation," I added sympathetically, turning to my left and making eye contact with Jasper.

"You have nothing to apologise for," Jaz responded immediately. "Once Alice was able to explain what she had seen, I understood why you needed to speak with that boy even if I was unable to be in his presence for some time. As we have discovered, it was important you speak with him to inform both his knowledge regarding the value of his life, and ours."

"Thank you for understanding," I whispered gratefully to my brother as I reached over to grip his shoulder. "You know how much I hate it when you suffer."

"I know," Jaz whispered. _Do not believe for a moment that I cannot detect how much that boy affected you too; I am not the only one who struggled tonight, _he admonished me firmly, but kindly, reminding me that he was also privy to my emotions during my conversation with the boy and now. "I knew you would not have put me in that situation unless it was important."

"You did the right thing, Son," Carlisle said from the car behind me, much to Rosalie's annoyance. "Both you and Alice had decided how to use the knowledge your gifts provided you in that moment. I agree that the boy deserved to know what Alice had Seen even if that meant telling the truth and risking our discovery. Such a life cannot be lost so freely, and I would have felt regret if you later informed me of what you knew, but chose not to intervene. I am proud of you, Edward."

"Me too," Esme agreed gently.

"You did well, Edward," Alice praised me, and I could feel her smiling as she spoke.

"Hear, hear!" Emmett agreed loudly.

I couldn't help but smile at my family's praise and forgiveness.

"Are you serious?" Rosalie exclaimed, angered by the open support my family gave me. "We are not human or even part of the magical world this kid lives in. Why should we care what happens to them? It won't even affect us!"

I was surprised when Alice immediately came to my defence with an argument I hadn't thought of myself.

"What if the destruction I saw was not specific to Spinner's End? What if it would have extended to the rest of England or Europe? Just because I did not See it, does not mean it would not have happened! If these wizards are as powerful as we think- if this boy is so fundamental to the human race, perhaps he is also valuable to ours. What if this became a global issue that merely started in Spinner's End? We would have been arrogant to assume this Dark Wizard's tyranny would _never_ affect us."

"Whatever-"

"Has this existence severed you so permanently from your humanity, Rosalie?" Carlisle gently challenged her. "We drink animal blood to preserve human life, and to keep our own connection to the emotions associated with being human. I refuse to believe you lack any compassion for that boy or the humans around him," Carlisle concluded firmly.

Rosalie ignored our father's reference to her compassion in favour of her continued anger towards me.

"My _problem_ is that Edward should not have made the choice for us- we should have had the opportunity to vote for the appropriate course of action."

"You would have lost," I pointed out to her. "And I did consider telling you what I planned to do, but I did not know how long it would take to talk to the boy. I knew you would all fear for my safety if you knew the truth and I did not want the weight of your thoughts and trepidations to distract me from my monitoring of the boy's. The less you knew the better."

"But you should not have had the power to make the choice! And as we discovered, you may have exposed Alice and yourself for nothing- we don't even know if what you said made a single bit of difference to that boy!"

Fed up with arguing with my stubborn sister, I simply said:

"I had to try, Rose."

"And look where that got us? Sixty minutes we will _never _get back again, and rushing to the airport. And even now, you still don't know if that boy has enough backbone to live."

An unbidden growl escaped my lips. Instinctively I clenched the steering wheel in an effort to ground my emotions in reality. For the first time that night I felt angry. I had not realised such feelings were boiling below the surface of my awareness, but suddenly I felt them fully, and with this also came a resurgence of the emotions I felt in the pub.

Upon hearing my reaction to her insult, Rosalie was no longer inclined to reprimand me or criticise the boy I had spoken to; although she was pleased to get some 'fight' out of me, she recalled that I was driving and backed off.

Despite this alteration in Rosalie's intentions, my feelings towards her remained unchanged.

_How dare she? That boy has more backbone than she could ever __dream__ of possessing_!

Once Jasper had recovered from my unexpected rage which hit him in the chest, he immediately tried to calm me down as he noticed the Volvo travelling faster than before.

"Do not provoke him, Rosalie!" Jasper shouted at our sister, my own anger with her influencing my brother's. Immediately, I felt his hand rest on my shoulder, and the beginnings of his gift taking effect.

"I have stopped," Rosalie said calmly and seriously; she had no intention for her comment to have affected me as strongly as it did- not even I expected to feel such intense anger.

By this stage, I was still gripping the steering wheel, clenching my fists and my jaw every time I felt a surge in anger rise within me. This was my way of assisting Jasper's efforts to calm me down, and slowly it was working.

My family were silent as they gave me a moment to regain control over my emotions. Unfortunately, every time Rosalie's comment echoed in my mind, an uncontrollable surge of rage pushed its way through me. Although I was in an emotional state, I was able to comprehend why I felt this way. Unfortunately, Jasper was having difficulty understanding how I could be calm one second, and alarmingly angry the next.

_Edward, _Jasper thought uncertainly the third time this occurred. _What is happening? _He questioned me gently, concern colouring his thoughts.

I wanted to answer him and vocalise how unfeeling- how ignorant- how utterly _wrong_ Rosalie was, but I only felt like shouting, and neither Jasper nor Alice deserved to be deafened. So I remained silent, and instead ground my teeth audibly and forced myself to breathe out whenever indignation threatened to control me.

I heard Jasper turn in his seat to stare at his wife; he wondered what she though of my behaviour. Concerned that her husband's gift did not seem to have a lasting affect on me, I heard Alice move quickly but cautiously across the leather seat as she placed herself directly behind me. I felt her arms slide carefully along my shoulders, and eventually I felt her hands gently rub up and down my arms.

I forced my mind to focus on the way her palms moved firmly across my skin. Her gentle, quiet thoughts penetrated my consciousness which distracted me from my own.

_Rosalie is notorious for being selfish, you've known this- known her for longer than I have, _she reminded me gently. _But we know her rudeness, especially in this case, stems from her love for us. She loves our family- she's just scared, and that blinds her to the feelings of others sometimes. _

I shook my head in disagreement; she was heartless with regard to the boy and the lives of all humans. Just because she lost her own life long before she should have did not mean others deserved an equally tragic fate.

Noticing that Alice was communicating with me through her thoughts, I felt Jasper attempt once again to calm me from where he sat; he did not wish to interrupt whatever effect Alice was having on me.

_Jasper and I know that that boy affected you somehow. I do not know what you are not telling us… but I do know that that boy's decision will __not __be_ _an easy one. _

I lifted my gaze so I could look at Alice in the rear-view mirror. She gave me a small smile and squeezed my shoulders in support, glad that she had engendered a reaction from me.

_I understand how difficult this will be for him and I know Jasper does too- he felt how upset you both were just before we left, but Rosalie does not. Tell her she's wrong, Edward; it's okay to stand up for him, _she reassured me.

"Edward?" Esme spoke to me; the prolonged silence that followed my growl worried her significantly. "Are you all okay up there?" she asked.

Even Rosalie was concerned that none of us had said anything in over a minute.

Jasper looked at me uncertainly; he knew I felt calmer, but did not know how long that calm would last.

When I did not answer our mother, Jasper asked me quietly: "_Are_ you okay?"

I felt my tense body relax as I gave in to Jasper's gift. For a second, I closed my eyes and allowed Jasper's calm to fill me, as I reminded myself of Alice's words: _It's okay to stand up for him._

"Thank you," I muttered gratefully to both Alice and Jasper. My brother's mind filled with relief as he clapped me on the shoulder.

_You are welcome._

Alice was giving me a broader smile now, glad that she and her husband were able to help me so efficiently.

"Jasper? Alice?" It was Carlisle this time who was addressing us; he too was worried that no one had responded to Esme.

"We're okay, Carlisle- sorry," Alice replied to him. "I think Edward just needed a moment," she explained sympathetically.

"Is he doing better now? I notice that he has slowed down again," Carlisle checked with Alice, though it was disconcerting for him that I was not speaking for myself.

"He is," Jasper answered, though as he spoke he leaned forward to force his gaze into my peripheral vision.

I felt my lip twitch upward in acknowledgement of his concern and how strange it was to see him so intent on getting my attention.

_I know you will say 'no', but I am ready to drive if you need me to, _Jaz reminded me before sitting up properly in his seat.

I allowed myself to smile, and immediately I felt Jasper's thoughts relax; he was relieved that I seemed to be back to my usual self.

"I am sorry for what I said, Edward," Rosalie muttered, and I was surprised to hear through her thoughts that she was genuinely remorseful. I was impressed that no one had told her to apologise to me; for once in her life, she did it without being asked. But in her mind, I could see she was also curious to understand why her words offended me so significantly.

After taking a few seconds to regain control over my emotions, I felt ready to justify my intense reaction to Rosalie's statement.

"It astonishes me that after hearing the entire conversation that took place in that pub, you then had the nerve to suggest that boy potentially lacks 'backbone'," I hissed in a controlled manner.

"I was not privy to his thoughts, Edward," she cut back bitterly. "Forgive me for not understanding the whole story."

"Your close-minded, selfish personality prevents you from understanding how difficult it would be for him to do what I asked!" I yelled at her through my teeth.

"Hey, no insults," Emmett spoke up loudly, insisting his rule apply to both of us.

"_He_ accused _you_ of not understanding what it is like to be _him_. But he was wrong, wasn't he? You do understand him and what he is going through. But the problem is Edward," Rosalie paused, relishing her opportunity to lecture me, "_you _are the only one of us to have access to his thoughts and his memories, so only _you_ know what life is or could be like for him. If I had known there was more to this boy than what you have told me, I would not have been so ready to say what I did. So do not judge me until I at least have all of the information I need to understand him as you do!" she hissed.

I exhaled slowly as I silently acknowledged that for once she was right. Although the rest of my family understood on some level the difficult situation I had put the boy into, Rosalie needed it to be spelled out for her. I knew this about my sister, but I had been so immersed in my own guilt that I had forgotten how ignorant my family were of his situation.

I was about to answer Rosalie, when Esme quietly supported her daughter.

"We noticed how upset you were when you left him, Edward. What happened? You can tell us," she encouraged me gently.

Having realised how much I had yet to tell my family, I readily informed them of all I knew about the boy. I hoped their empathy for him would help them understand my alarming reaction to Rosalie's suggestion that he 'lacked' a backbone.

"I have never come across a mind like his before," I began calmly. "Although he was intoxicated, his reasoning and his faculties were still remarkably intact. This is how he appeared to be sober, as evidenced by Rod's shock that he was not drunk. I believe that to any of you, except Jasper and me, he would have appeared to be a lonely boy who was simply drinking to pass the time."

I shook my head in astonishment and wonder as I recalled how much that young man was able to visibly conceal from his audience.

"We all witnessed Jasper's experience of his agony- how that boy managed to contain such intense and painful emotions is beyond my understanding; his ability was almost inhuman, and yet his grief made me certain he was anything but. Within minutes of being in his presence, I knew that beneath his very convincing façade was an emotional and psychological Hell none of us could ever hope to live with for long. Somehow his intriguing mind continued to drive his behaviour, whilst his emotions relentlessly ate away at the very pit of his stomach. His control was almost perfect, but for as long as it continued, I would never be able to change his mind."

"So you tried to upset him- to break through," Jasper interjected unable to reign in his curiosity as he begun to understand why I intentionally pushed the boy to the brink of tears.

"Correct," I acknowledged. "I knew his love for Lily would be the only factor that could tie him to life and motivate him to live through the agony he was experiencing. Given she has passed on however, avenging her death, caring for her family, or ensuring her death was not wasted were the only parts of her that I hoped he would grasp.

"As we know, Harry, Lily's child most likely still lives, but not being sure, I could not inform him of that. I do feel, however, that if he were alive, the boy may live to protect him."

My family were silent in light of this revelation; how could this boy be willing to live for Lily's son when he was not the infant's father? How could he love Lily so intensely when he, as far as I could determine, had never been her partner? It quickly became clear to my family that this boy was a conglomerate of contradictions; we had evidence he worked for the Dark Wizard and presumably is capable of dark magic himself, and yet he loved this woman so _selflessly. _

"He would do that for her?" Esme eventually whispered in disbelief.

"I believe so," I responded slowly. "My suggestion that her husband or son may not be dead gave him pause. Despite his objection to my desire for balance, protecting them would be his way of redeeming the crime he felt he committed."

"But he _didn't _kill her, did he?" Emmett asked, feeling slightly confused. "The Dark Wizard that disappeared was the one who murdered her. So what did _he _do?"

"I think the answer is quite complicated, but I was able to gather pieces of information based on the memories he recalled during our conversation. I can share what I know based on these, but I am certain there is more to the story."

"Some information is better than none at all," Alice pointed out optimistically, glad for any further insight into the boy who had so much influence over the future of Spinner's End. "At least it will help us understand where he was coming from a little better."

"True," I acknowledged, not wanting to discount the information I _did _have. "Before I try to explain it, it would be helpful and interesting for you to know that people like Alice exist in his world. _Not_ to the same strength of Alice's gift, however," I added quickly, not wishing to panic my family further than I already had that night.

When I was certain they would not interrupt me, I continued.

"When I told the boy about Alice, he labelled her as a 'Seer' which is the name given to individuals who can predict the future. It alarmed the boy that Alice was able to See how the future will alter on the whim of any one individual's choice. The extent of Alice's gift was one he believed to be impossible even in his world."

I then paused for dramatic effect as once again the slight parallels between the magical human world and ours was quite startling.

"Some time ago, it is difficult to determine exactly when, the boy overheard a prophecy- a prediction being made by a Seer. I am not sure the contents of the prediction the Seer had made, but he deemed it important enough to tell the Dark Wizard its contents-"

"The Dark Wizard who killed her? But why would he do that?" Emmett interjected feeling indignant on behalf of Lily and her family, feeling the boy had betrayed the woman he supposedly loved.

"He did not know the prophecy referred to Lily or would affect her in any way, this is why he is unable to forgive himself for telling him," I explained carefully; I wanted my family to believe in the boy's innocence as I did.

"So he believes the reason why the Dark Wizard killed Lily, her husband, and tried to kill her son was because of this prophecy?" Esme tried to summarise for our family.

"Mmm, no," I replied, shaking my head. "He _knows _the prophecy is the reason why she was murdered."

"It cannot have been too specific then," Jasper observed, "otherwise he would have known it referred to Lily."

"I imagine it was quite vague," I agreed. "But he _did _know it referred to his master."

"I wonder why a prophecy was made about the Potters and this Dark Wizard," Carlisle pondered out loud. "I suppose we will never know unless Lily's son is alive and this Dark Wizard re-appears once again." It interested me that Carlisle was disappointed to not have a full understanding of the intriguing mystery our family were privy to.

"There are endless possibilities," Alice contributed. "Perhaps the prophecy predicted that one of them would kill this Dark Wizard, so he murdered them all for good measure?"

"But that didn't work out too well for him- he's disappeared," Rosalie pointed out.

"Or gone into hiding," Emmett further suggested.

"I feel we have distracted you from your story, Edward," Esme said politely; although she enjoyed our family's speculations, she was keen to readdress the facts.

I smiled, glad to indulge everyone's personal contributions to understanding the prophecy; anything to help them understand what that boy went through in my presence.

"Once it became apparent to him that his master intended to kill the Potters, I feel he somehow altered his allegiance."

I paused as I remembered the respectful thoughts he felt towards Albus Dumbledore, who was the leader of the 'opposition' as evidenced by tens of Godric's Hollow inhabitants.

"I believe he tried to protect her- told Albus Dumbledore what he had heard." I then gasped as two facts connected themselves in my mind.

"What?" Jasper asked forcefully, even though he sensed the intrigue circulating through my body.

"The woman who spoke to Godric's Hollow- the one who had been in contact with Albus Dumbledore," I clarified. "She was surprised that the town knew the Potters lived in the house up on the hill. But why _wouldn't _their neighbours know who lived there _unless_-"

"Their location was meant to be a secret!" Alice finished for me.

"Exactly."

"So after he told the Dark Wizard about the prophecy, discovered it may put Lily in danger, he told Albus Dumbledore, his master's opposition in the hope he would protect Lily and her family?" Carlisle summarised for us to make sure he understood the facts.

"Correct, though unfortunately the protection was not effective; as we know the Dark Wizard was still able to find them," I said sorrowfully, as I imagined how I would feel if I trusted someone to protect my family and that protection failed.

"I feel sorry for him," Alice said quietly, her voice deeper with her empathy for him. "He tried to protect her when he realised his mistake, but she still died. Although it was not his fault, I can understand why he feels so responsible."

I nodded.

"But manslaughter?" Emmett interjected seriously. "This was not manslaughter," my brother insisted.

"I agree; he did not know who the prophecy referred to- he did everything he could to make it right," said Esme as she also empathised with the boy, possibly with greater understanding than the rest of us.

"I completely agree, but he loved her, Esme. To even conceive causing Lily a small amount of pain was excruciating to him. He cannot forgive himself for that- for sending Lily to her death," I explained solemnly. "He believes so fully that if he had not heard the prophecy, Lily would still be alive, that he takes responsibility for her death."

Carlisle sighed. "Well if the boy lives long enough to discover that Harry Potter is still alive, perhaps he will continue to live: for her son."

"If he were to make that choice, he must truly love her," Rosalie whispered, speaking for the first time in minutes. "He would be living just for that child."

"Yes," I agreed readily with my sister, "because he is Lily's son."

Rosalie's understanding of the boy had deepened significantly; she now understood both his grief and his love for Lily Potter. However, how either of these factors influenced my own feelings towards the boy was still unclear to her.

"Edward, I still do not understand why you were so upset by what I said," Rosalie mentioned tentatively, unsure whether I was ready to return to that aspect of our conversation.

"I was offended," I explained to her, "you spoke as if the decision the boy needed to make was an easy one- that choosing to die required no 'backbone'."

"I chose my words carelessly," Rosalie informed me defensively, though I could hear true regret in her voice. "But dying _would_ be the easier choice, wouldn't it?"

"Only he could answer that," I replied. "I honestly could not imagine making either choice. If I knew my death would result in the torture and enslavement of my home town, I would be willing to be a martyr for them- I would not be so arrogant to believe my life was worth all of theirs. The boy's beliefs reflect a similar understanding. However, if the alternative required me to experience relentless incapacitating grief and guilt for being responsible for the death of the woman I loved… I don't think I could survive it."

"So you ultimately asked him to choose between self-torture or the torture of countless others," Rosalie summarised finally understanding what I had been trying to say. "To be selfish or selfless."

"Precisely. I told him he would not be selfish if he chose to die in order to preserve his sanity and spare others of the bitterness and self-hatred I know he will feel if he did choose to live. Yet despite how much I understand about his situation, I asked him to place the wellbeing of others before his own- I left him feeling selfish and woefully misunderstood. I took his freedom and his peace away from him," I concluded solemnly, my own guilt returning to me.

"Oh, Edward," Esme said soothingly, and I could see in her mind that she wanted to give me a hug. "He deserved to know what Alice saw. You were _meant_ to speak with him, Edward; I am sure of it."  
"He did not want to hear what I had to say; he wanted to be left alone. I knew this- I should have granted him his final wish," I whispered remorsefully.

"But Edward, you may have given him a purpose- a reason to live- one he did not have before," Alice pointed out to me.

"But as he said, he cannot_live_ like this; no one could truly live when they carry such agony and remorse in their hearts. His mind was a relentless Hell created by him to ensure he was never forgiven for her death- never given a moment's mercy. I should have walked out of that pub the moment I realised he would never forgive himself."

"There is still hope that he may, Edward. He just discovered Lily died- in five or even ten years time, he may be able to forgive," Carlisle murmured calmly, attempting to insert some optimism into my outlook.

I shook my head. "He is too connected to her… I cannot understand it; I do not believe they ever dated."

"Really?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"Really," I confirmed. "Perhaps his love for Lily was unrequited. If this were true, that would explain the depth of his grief for her- so many regrets. Without question, he would die for her- do anything for her, but to live merely to protect the lives of his neighbours? He could not conceive that- he could not imagine surviving such a life.

"I hope he discovers that Lily's son lives and the man who murdered her may one day live again. Only this information may give him the courage and motivation to struggle through the emotional pain he would need to endure over the next few years."

"Then let us hope he finds out what we know; that the young child survived his parents. It is understandable that you feel guilty, Son, but that boy needed to hear what you had to say even if it caused him tremendous pain," Carlisle reasoned kindly with me.

Of course, I knew my father was right. Unfortunately, it took some time for my guilt to subside; the boy's tearful face kept looming in the back of my consciousness.

_There is so much more I should have said…_

XXXXXXXX

Edward's POV continued…

We pulled into the airport with ten minutes to spare. Within a minute, Carlisle and I had both found a space for our cars which were scheduled to be shipped to Washington in due course.

As we were unloading our bags and rushing through the departure gates, Emmett asked me tentatively:

_Did you really kill 8 people?_ And I knew it was question he had been longing to ask all night. It amused me that he was torn between irreverent awe and shock at the number of people I had presumably killed.

"Yes," I muttered under my breath at a level no human could hear.

_Aw man, when? _he asked through his thoughts, sounding far more enthusiastic than he should have been.

The answer to his question should have been obvious. Although Emmett had heard of my rebellion against Carlisle and Esme some decades previously, I had refused to provide any details. Out of respect for me, my parents similarly kept silent on the matter. However, Emmett now wondered how many 'rebellions' I had embarked on during my existence.

"Years ago- before Rosalie joined us," I whispered. "And it was just once," I added, wary of his next question.

_I can't believe you told this stranger about your rebellious stage before me!_ he exclaimed in mock offense.

"There is not much to tell, Emmett," I told him seriously.

_Oh sure there's not, _Emmett teased me, his grin far broader than I appreciated. _Eight__ people? There would be plenty to talk about if you wanted to._

"They were all murderers or rapists," I hissed at him wishing he would drop the topic.

_So you lied to the boy then? They weren't innocent,_ my brother pointed out, but not in an accusatory manner; he was merely trying to discover the truth of my 'human-blood drinking spree'.

I cringed.

"They were still human, Emmett," I reminded him patiently.

_Humans do not commit such crimes, monsters do,_ Emmett thought seriously, though the irony was not lost on him. _You didn't see them commit their crimes did you?_ He added hesitantly; he wondered whether this was the reason why I never spoke of that period of my life.

"No," _thankfully, _"but I often saw them recall the moment through their thoughts, which they did with relish."

_That's disgusting_, Emmett commented, and I could not agree more with him. _Well if one was going to go on a killing spree, murdering other murderers is definitely the way to go._

I turned sharply to my right to show Emmett how much I disapproved of his almost jovial attitude.

_Don't look at me that way_, Emmett chuckled in an attempt to reduce the tension around me. But when I did not alter my expression, my brother spoke seriously once again:

_They deserved it, Edward, not even you can deny that. I'm sorry for joking around, okay? It was so many years ago, but… of course you wouldn't have forgotten it. _Naturally, he was right about that which was yet another reason why I chose to never recount even the broad details of my time away from Carlisle and Esme.

Then feeling slightly guilty, Emmett patted me on the shoulder and left me walking alongside Jasper and Alice so he could join his wife who was leading the way to customs.

While Jasper was trying to determine the topic discussed between myself and our brother by comparing my emotions with the few words I had uttered, Alice was examining Rod's future for what was the sixth time that night. As it had been since leaving Spinner's End, his future and that of Spinner's End was caught in limbo between the usual, mundane human life, and a dark place with far darker tyrants. The suspense was beginning to grind at my nerves even though I had yet to determine which future I wanted Alice to See for those people. My only consolation was that the boy was still alive, which gave me hope that after sixty minutes I had in fact reached the part of him who loves Lily. Even then, knowing he was still living in an intense psychological Hell, which he is likely enduring _because_ of my intervention, significantly reduced any relief I may have felt knowing that he was still alive.

Once we successfully went through customs, we ran (at a fast human pace) to the boarding gate which was, of course, on the other side of the airport. As we ran, Alice tried to See the boy's future to determine what he was doing at that point in time. Had he fallen asleep? Fallen unconscious? Was he still standing in his home with the poison in his hand or on his bedside table?

Unfortunately, without knowledge of his name (miraculously the boy never referred to himself in the third person in his thoughts) and an unclear image of his appearance (which was based on my description of him), my sister could not See him or his future. After two solid minutes during which she attempted to See him, she regretfully gave up.

Once we had boarded the Boeing 747 and found our seats, my family taking up seven of the ten seats in our row, we made ourselves comfortable for the flight ahead of us. While Rosalie was standing in the aisle placing our bags in storage and communicating with Alice to ensure we had everything we needed at our feet for the seven and a half hour flight, Emmett caught my eye.

_Do you think we'll come back one day?_ Emmett asked me hopefully.

"Perhaps, but it will not be for some time, Emmett," I reminded my brother. "We cannot risk that boy seeing me again."

Emmett's disappointment was clear in his thoughts and on his face.

_Aww_, Emmett moaned, clearly crestfallen. _I would have liked to have known what happened to him and to his world._

I nodded my head in understanding, but I could not decide what I would want to discover if we were to return in future.

_Perhaps we could return to a different area of England?_

I raised my eyebrows at Emmett. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of your returning?"

Emmett grinned at me. _Well he cannot see __you__ but it would be permissible for me to seek __him __out. _

"Let us hope that Alice Sees anything significant in the time being in the hope that will sway you from this desire of yours," I said half jokingly as I gave my brother a slight smile; I felt the possibility of us returning was slim, and wanted Emmett to be aware of this fact.

"At the moment I See nothing," Alice muttered under her breath at a level only we could hear. She was thoroughly disappointed that her gift had not allowed her to See what we all wanted to know. "I thought I would have been able to find him."

"This is a unique situation, Alice," I reminded her quietly, "without his name and given you have not met him, you would not be able to see anything unless it was out of the ordinary."

All I heard was Alice's sigh.

By this time we were all seated. Rosalie was browsing through the airplane catalogue and Emmett was loyally looking over her shoulder pretending to be interested in the latest Duty Free items. However, it was clear to me that he was not interested at all.

_If you could, you would like to see him again, wouldn't you? _Emmett thought at me. He was not looking at me, but I had no doubt he wanted an answer- hoping that if I did, I would later support any attempts he may make to return to England in the years to come.

I was able to ignore his ulterior motive because his question caused me to contemplate my answer and whether this differed from my desire.

If I could guarantee the safety of my family and my species, would I want to see that boy again sometime in the future?

_If he were still alive._

Would I want to see what had come of his life having decided _not _to take his life the evening we met? As difficult as it would be, I could not deny myself the opportunity to apologise to the boy for the part I played in the continuation of his life.

My answer to Emmett's question was an unwavering _Yes._

I gave my brother a small nod, which Emmett saw out of the corner of his eye. He smiled broadly while he eyed a red, satin dress in the magazine. Anyone else would have believed Emmett was intending to buy Rose that particular dress, but myself and Jasper knew what his smile signified: Hope.

XXXXXXXX

Edward's POV continued…

We had been in the air for ninety minutes when Alice's vision finally stopped wavering between the two potential futures for Spinner's End. I exhaled with relief and Alice gave a small cheer when the mundane, however desirable, image of average humans walking around their small town clearly formed in Alice's mind. For now, Rod's future was free of torture- for now the boy had chosen to live his life.

Naturally, our family heard both of our reactions, which occurred simultaneously, and were naturally eager to hear what Alice had seen. Quietly, I informed Rosalie and Emmett what had happened, whilst Alice communicated the same to Jasper, Carlisle and Esme.

Our family readily expressed their relief that the boy opted for the decision they hoped he would choose.

However, while they spoke quietly amongst themselves, now considering how the boy felt about _me _and how much my intervention had influenced his decision, I found myself staring out of the window, unsure how I felt about being at all responsible for the boy's decision to live what I knew would be a difficult life. Ultimately, I wanted him to make the choice that _he_ wanted to make based on the knowledge he now had. If I knew he logically weighed up the advantages and disadvantages of each option, I would have felt more relaxed. Unfortunately, not even Alice's gift could provide me with that relief.

Even though I knew the future had altered for now, I was certain the boy was too connected to death; he would not have altered his decision so quickly and have it be so definite. I expected that he would change his mind perhaps after having a good night's sleep.

I tried- hard to think of something else, but I could not be distracted from my own hypotheses regarding what the boy may now plan for his future.

My hope, however unlikely it may be, was the boy found of way of saving Spinner's End that did not require him to endure a torturous life. Perhaps he warned someone of what Alice had seen and this is what led to Rod and his neighbours' safety. Perhaps he told Albus Dumbledore? What would he- one of, if not the most powerful wizard think of me and my Seeing sister?

Regardless, if Albus Dumbledore was aware of what the boy and I had discussed, perhaps he alone could put a stop to the Dark Wizard's revival? Perhaps then the boy could die in peace knowing someone _else_ would help those still living, including Lily's son. I could only hope.

I rested my forehead against the side of the plane, hoping the boy would be so lucky,

He _could_ die in peace after all.

XXXXXXXXX

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It is quite a long one so thank you for getting through it! I hope it was worth the wait.

There will be one more chapter before we skip some time (14 years to be exact) in this fic. Therefore, the next chapter will summarise what occurs for Edward and the Cullens over the next 14 years. This way, when we return for chapter 6, everyone will know where the Cullens are at when they return to England ; )

Thank you once again for reading- please remember to leave a review for me!

I hope to update 'Leave Me' within a week, so stay tuned :D


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